Bridging the gap between sustainability and profitability: unveiling the untapped potential of sea cucumber viscera

Muhammad Fatratullah Muhsin; Yushinta Fujaya; Andi Aliah Hidayani; Hanafiah Fazhan; Wan Adibah Wan Mahari; Su Shiung Lam; Alexander Chong Shu-Chien; Youji Wang; Nor Afiqah-Aleng; Nita Rukminasari; Khor Waiho

doi:10.7717/peerj.16252

Bridging the gap between sustainability and profitability: unveiling the untapped potential of sea cucumber viscera

PeerJ. 2023 Oct 11:11:e16252. doi: 10.7717/peerj.16252. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Muhammad Fatratullah Muhsin¹, Yushinta Fujaya², Andi Aliah Hidayani², Hanafiah Fazhan^{1

3

4

5}, Wan Adibah Wan Mahari¹, Su Shiung Lam¹, Alexander Chong Shu-Chien^{4

6}, Youji Wang⁷, Nor Afiqah-Aleng⁸, Nita Rukminasari², Khor Waiho^{1

3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE), Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Malaysia.
² Faculty of Marine Sciences and Fishery, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia.
³ STU-UMT Joint Shellfish Research Laboratory, Shantou University, Shantou, China.
⁴ Centre for Chemical Biology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
⁵ Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
⁶ School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
⁷ International Research Center for Marine Biosciences, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China.
⁸ Institute of Marine Biotechnology (ICAMB), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Malaysia.

Abstract

Sea cucumbers have high economic value, and in most forms of trade, their body wall is typically the only part that is harvested and sold. The organs of the sea cucumber, collectively known as the viscera, are frequently discarded, contributing to land and water pollution. However, discarded sea cucumber viscera contain various nutrients that can be used in many applications. Therefore, this review highlights the biological and economic aspects of sea cucumbers, followed by a critical discussion of the nutritional value of their internal organs and possible applications, including as functional feed additives in the aquaculture industry, sources of natural testosterone for application in sex reversal and production of monosex population, of neuroprotective agents against central nervous system disorders and of cosmetic ingredients, especially for skin whitening and anti-ageing products. The review further highlights the valorisation potential of viscera to maximize their economic potential, thus providing an enormous prospect for reusing sea cucumber waste, thereby reducing the negative impact of the sea cucumber fishery sector on the environment.

Keywords: Bioactive compound; Sea cucumber; Valorisation; Viscera; Waste.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Aquaculture
Sea Cucumbers*
Viscera

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the University Malaysia Terengganu and Hasanuddin University, Indonesia under the International Partnership Research Grant (UMT/IPRG/2021/55300). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.