Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea. They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. There are a number of holothurian species and genera, many of which are targeted for human consumption. The harvested product is variously referred to as trepang, bêche-de-mer or balate. Sea cucumbers communicate with each other by sending hormone signals through the water. A remarkable feature of these animals is the catch collagen that forms their body wall. This can be loosened and tightened at will, and if the animal wants to squeeze through a small gap, it can essentially liquefy its body and pour into the space. To keep itself safe in these crevices and cracks, the sea cucumber hooks up all its collagen fibres to make its body firm again. Some varieties of sea cucumber (known as gamat in Malaysia or teripang in Indonesia) are said to have excellent healing properties. There are pharmaceutical companies being built based on gamat. Extracts are prepared and made into oil, cream, or cosmetics. Some products are intended to be taken internally. A single study conducted on an unreported number of mice found intraperitoneal injection of sea cucumber extract to be somewhat effective in high doses (100 mg/kg) against internal pain, but ineffective against externally induced pain. Another study suggested that the sea cucumber contains all the fatty acids necessary to play a potential active role in tissue repair.

 

Sea cucumber is the main ingredient of TBL-12. It is a prized food, particularly in Asian markets. They are known to have anti-aging agents and are strong anti-oxidants. Earlier this century and through much of the nineteenth century, the animal was the basis of a major export industry across northern Australia.  Sea cucumber is beneficial for anti-aging and for persons needing an energy “boost”. In addition,  sea cucumber improves the balance of prostaglandins and also contain chondroitins. Finally, sea cucumbers provide vitamins A, B1(thiamine), B2(riboflavin) and B3(niacin), and C as well as the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc. Based on the research of scientists, sea cucumbers are considered to have the content of Cell Growth Factor. Therefore, it is able to stimulate regeneration of cells and tissue that has been damaged, decayed and even sick, so it can be back to normal, for example in the case of diabetes mellitus. In addition of drinking sea cucumbers, it can also be applied to the wounds that had rotted, and even that was almost amputated. This indicates that the existing content in cucumber able to work well so the injury can recover quickly. High protein content in cucumber which reaches 86% is good to be given to diabetics. High protein plays regenerate pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. The result is increasing insulin production. About its benefit to cure heart disease presented by researchers, it is claimed that docosahexanat acids (DHA) of the sea cucumber can lower blood triglyceride levels cause heart disease. This has been evidenced when examining fatty acids stichopus chloronotus of sea cucumber, sea cucumber has DHA content which is relatively high, i.e. 3.69%.