• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.350-358
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• 1998

The antimutagenic and anticancer activities of glycoprotein(GP) and chondroitin sulfate(CS) from sea cucumbers were studied using Ames mutagenicity test and human cancer cells culture test. The GP's inhibitory effect toward aflatoxin B1(AFB1) and 3, 2'-dimethyl-4-amino-biphenyl(DMAB) increased with the higher added concentrations up to 5% level(w/w) regardless fractionation methods. The GP from sea cucumbers through DEAE-cellulose column chromatography showed an inhibitory effect ranged from 84 to 98%, and the maximum antimutagenicities resulted in red sea cucumber with 98% (AFB1) and 95% (DMAB). But 5% level of CS from various sea cucumbers had an inhibitory effect toward those both indirect mutagens ranged from 79% to 85%. However, in case of direct mutagens(N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, MNNG and 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide, 4-NQO), the GP's inhibitory effect was 55∼78% and the CS had a low inhibitory effect(58∼70%) at the added level of 5%. The GP from sea cucumbers exhibited the strong inhibitory effects with 89∼95% and 82∼92% on the growth of HT-29 human crcinoma cells and AZ-521 human gastric cancer cells (at 5% level).

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.806-811
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• 2017

A multiplex PCR system comprising 14 microsatellite markers was developed for genotyping analysis of the sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus. A total of 286 samples were used to evaluate genetic polymorphisms and forensic parameters of the microsatellite loci. In a single PCR reaction, all 14 loci were uniformly amplified and a total of 269 alleles were identified. The AJ19024 locus had the largest number of alleles (46), and its discriminatory power and exclusion power were 0.99 and 0.76, respectively. The fewest alleles (8) were present at the Psj2575 locus, which provided the lowest discriminatory power (0.81) and exclusion power (0.20). The mean number of alleles, mean heterozygosity, mean discrimination power and mean exclusion power per locus were 19.21, 0.70, 0.93, and 0.46, respectively. The combined matching probability for the 14 loci was $9.64{\times}10^{-19}$, and the combined power of exclusion was 0.999995. Thus, the forensic parameters evaluated in the present study demonstrated the utility of our multiplex PCR system for biological tracing methods, such as individual identification and paternity testing, in the sea cucumber.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.69-75
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• 2018

We investigated the effects of environmental variations on the growth and survival rate of Stichopus japonicus to determine the optimum environmental conditions for its growth. Literature studies and a 12 month-long diver survey were carried out to understand the habitat, ecology and size of the surveyed area. Based on the collected data, we suggested optimum habitat conditions for releasing S. japonicus. Experiments on releasing S. japonicus were conducted in the breakwater of the Hwagye fishing cooperative in Hwagey-ri, Namhae-un, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea. To implement the experiments, we divided the surveyed area into 4 sub-areas with different characteristics: (1) sand and silt zone; (2) artificial sea cucumber bank zone; (3) artificial rock bank zone; and (4) marine algae zone. The experiment lasted for 12 months. We released 32,000 sea cucumbers over $120m^2$ of each of the sand and silt zone, artificial rock bank zone and marine algae zone and released 6,000 sea cucumbers over $120m^2$ of the artificial sea cucumber bank zone. The average density of the released sea cucumbers from day 30 to day 360 after the releasing was conducted was the highest in the artificial sea cucumber bank zone ($23.7animal/m^2$), which was followed by artificial rock bank zone ($2.0animal/m^2$), marine algae zone ($1.9animal/m^2$) and sand and silt zone ($0.8animal/m^2$). The analysis on growth showed that the initial average weight of 2.3 g increased on day 360 after the releasing to 12.5 g in the artificial sea cucumber rank zone, 20.2 g in the sand and silt zone, 23.3 g in the artificial rock bank zone and 22.9 g in the marine algae zone. Results from the experiment along with the literature analysis suggest the following optimum habitat conditions: $10-15^{\circ}C$ water temperature; 28-34 psu salinity; 5-10 m water depth; 0.2-0.5 m/s velocity; rock, stone and muddy sand as substrate; and less than 20% mud in the substrate.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.142-147
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of practical diets containing different seaweed powders on the growth and body composition of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Six experimental diets were formulated to contain 40% of the following seaweed powders: Sargassum thunbergii (ST), Undaria pinnatifida (UP), Ascophyllum nodosum (AN), Hizikia fusiformis (HF), fermented Laminaria japonica (FLJ), and fermented Hizikia fusiformis (FHF). Sea cucumbers (30 per tank; initial mean weight $0.4{\pm}0.01g$) in three replicates of six groups were fed one of the six experimental diets for 15 weeks. Survival in all groups was 83-93%, with no significant differences among the experimental groups. The specific growth rates of the sea cucumbers fed the ST and UP diets were significantly higher than those of sea cucumbers fed the HF, FLJ, and FHF diets, but did not significantly differ from those of sea cucumbers fed the AN diet. The results of this study suggest that S. thunbergii, U. pinnatifida, and A. nodosum could be useful sources of seaweed powder for practical diets of juvenile sea cucumber.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.535-547
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• 2023

Sea cucumbers (Holothuria scabra), also known as beche-de-mer, are highly valued as a luxurious food item and have been utilized as a traditional tonic food in various Asian countries for centuries. The body walls of sea cucumbers are the main edible part, which are primarily composed of glycosaminoglycan (GAG). The rehydration of dried sea cucumber is a crucial step prior to further processing. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of ultrasound-assisted rehydration (UAR) on the quality of dried sea cucumbers. The experiment used four different rehydration methods, including conventional methods at 27℃ (KV27℃) and 15℃ (KV15℃), as well as a combination of ultrasound at 27℃ with conventional at 15℃ (UAR27 + KV15℃) and ultrasound at 15℃ with conventional at 15℃ (UAR15 + KV15℃). Results indicated that the rehydration rate (RR) was significantly affected by both the rehydration method and the temperature used (p < 0.05). UAR27 + KV15℃ was identified as the most effective method in terms of rehydration behavior and quality characteristics of dried sea cucumber, with a RR of 0.58 ± 0.53 gH₂O/hour and reduced rehydration time of up to 28 hours. Moreover, the UAR27 + KV15℃ method demonstrated superior rehydration potential, nutritional value (proximate composition and sulfate content), color, lower energy, and microstructure properties compared to the other methods. The sulfate content and yield of sulfated GAGs were determined to be 89.4 mg/g and 52.8 ㎍/g, respectively. Confirmation of the absorption band of the sulfate group showed the presence of 3-N-acetyl galactosamine at a wavelength of 1,269 cm^-1 and C-O-S at 860 cm^-1. The sea cucumbers treated with UAR exhibited a GAG content approximately 2.9 times higher than those rehydrated with the conventional method. Eventually, the combination of UAR at 27℃ with conventional at 15℃ methods can significantly accelerate the rehydration of sea cucumber without negatively affecting its physical quality properties.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.132-136
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• 2014

Five sea cucumbers were collected from Gisamun and Gonghyeonjin of Gangwon-do, in the East Sea, Korea from 27 December 2009 to 14 November 2012. These specimens were classified as Synallactes nozawai Mitsukuri, 1912 belonging to the family Synallactidae of order Aspidochirotida based on morphological characteristics. The family, genus and species are recorded for the first time from Korea. The distinct morphological characteristics of this species are as follows: body flexible, with thin gelatinous body wall; presence of numerous tubercles along dorsal ambulacra table of body wall consisted of three- or four-armed disk and a spire-form pillar. This species usually inhabits the deep sea and is distributed in the Northwest Pacific from northern Japan to Bering Sea.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.12-15
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• 2008

A chemical investigation of the polar extract of the sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus, collected from Jeju Island, Korea, has led to isolation of five new fatty acid derivatives (1, 4 - 7) along with known compounds (2 - 3, 8 - 14). Their structures were elucidated by a combination of MS and NMR spectroscopy.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.1360-1365
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• 2013

Juvenile sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus(wet weight $1.0{\pm}0.2g$, n=250) acclimated to environmental conditions($17^{\circ}C$, 33 psu) during 4 weeks for observation of survival and structural variation of integumentary system according to various salinity concentration. After that, it was exposed 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 psu in 96h, and recovered during 7 days. In this results, The 96-h lethal concentration(LC50) for sea cucumber was a salinity of 21.05 psu. Integumentary system of the sea cucumber exposed to below the salinity of 20 psu mainly observed thickness reduction of epidermal layer, nucleus condensation of epithelial cells, decreased of mucous cells and loose arrangement of connective tissue in dermal layer. Integumentary system of the sea cucumber exposed a salinity of 40 psu mainly observed nucleus hypertrophy of epithelial cells, increase of mucous cells and tight arrangement of connective tissue in dermal layer. Also, observed secretory cells showing the alcian blue(pH 2.5) positive. During 96-h exposure, this cells decreased after increase below the salinity of 20 psu but increased in the salinity of 40 psu compared with 25-35 psu.