Profiling Analysis of Fatty Acids and Collagens Obtained from Sea Cucumbers

¹ Institute of Thermodynamics, Helmut-Schmidt-University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
² Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Bangkok, Thailand
³ Department of Agro-Industrial, Food, and Environmental Technology, Faculty of Applied Science, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Bangkok, Thailand
⁴ Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Science, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Bangkok, Thailand

^* Corresponding author: macintous@gmail.com

Abstract

Investigations of alternative resources for production of functional foods and ingredients containing valuable compounds with biological activities are getting more and more attention. Sea cucumbers are aquatic functional foods with various medical and pharmaceutical effects, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities. This study aimed to conduct profiling analysis of fatty acids and collagens extracted from four different sea cucumbers harvested from Papua New Guinea by using Gas Chromatrography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR). Three different extraction methods in combination with various solvents were used to find the best combination for extracting fatty acids. Enzymatic and chemical extraction methods were applied for collagen extraction. The highest fat recovery in this study was 85.32% of theoretical yield with high proportions of unsaturated fatty acids up to 74.54%, and enriched with omega-3 fatty acid. FT-IR chromatogram of sea cucumber protein extracts showed the characteristic of collagen enriched with glycine and proline. The nutritional analysis of sea cucumber extracts demonstrated the potential use as functional foods and ingredients with high benefits to human health.