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Sea cucumber Holothuria forskali , a new resource for aquaculture? Reproductive biology and nutraceutical approach
Author(s) -
Santos Rita,
Dias Simaura,
Pinteus Susete,
Silva Joana,
Alves Celso,
Tecelão Carla,
Pedrosa Rui,
Pombo Ana
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1111/are.12683
Subject(s) - sea cucumber , biology , nutraceutical , gonadosomatic index , eicosapentaenoic acid , palmitic acid , antimicrobial , food science , stearic acid , aquaculture , fatty acid , antioxidant , antiprotozoal , microbiology and biotechnology , polyunsaturated fatty acid , biochemistry , fishery , in vitro , ecology , population , fish <actinopterygii> , materials science , demography , sociology , fecundity , composite material
Abstract Sea cucumbers are highly marketable as a food product due to their nutritional value. Also, it has been suggested that sea cucumbers possess a wide range of bioactive compounds that can be used in the pharmaceutical industry. In this study, the reproductive biology of Holothuria forskali was performed by evaluating the gonadosomatic index ( GI ) and histological analyses of the gonadal tubules. The biotechnological potential was assessed through the evaluation of the antioxidant, antimicrobial and antitumor potential. Finally, the fatty acid profile was also evaluated. These three subjects were chosen to increase the interest and to focus the economic potential of this species rearing, predicting that it can be sold in Europe or export to Asia to be used for human consumption or for the pharmaceutical industry. The GI and the histological analysis of the gonadal tubules revealed that the range from February to March corresponds to the peak of gonads maturation. Furthermore, the methanolic fraction revealed the highest antimicrobial potential against Candida albicans with an IC 50 of 233.2 mg mL −1 . Also, this fraction presented the highest cytotoxic and anti‐proliferative activities through the method for measuring cell proliferation method in both cell lines, with an IC 50 of 238.2 and 396.0 mg mL −1 for MCF ‐7 cells respectively and 260.3 and 218.7 mg mL −1 for HepG‐2 cells respectively. Regarding the fatty acid profile, the total fat content was 4.83% and the highest values were obtained for palmitic acid (9.96%), stearic acid (11.23%), eicosapentaenoic acid (10.49%) and arachidonic acid (20.36%).