Studies on losses of some functional components during traditional processing trepang from Apostichopus japonicus

Objective Sea cucumber is one of the traditional nourishing foods that exhibits high value in both dietotherapy and medicinal treatment.In the development of the sea cucumber industry,the majority was still occupied by the traditional sea cucumber processing.The traditional technics of sea cucumber processing has both advantages and disadvantages.Therefore,as a high-grade nourishing food,how to process and utilize the precious resource scientifically is not only an issue to settle but also a great concern for sea cucumber deep processing industry nowadays.Methods In an attempt to trace the losses of some functional ingredients,sea cucumber proteins,polysaccharides and saponins were quantified respectively from cooking water left in the course of traditional processing fresh body wall of Apostichopus japonicus.Results The longer heating period extended,the more quantity of sea cucumber proteins,polysaccharides and saponins was lost simultaneously.Conclusion The results showed that some critical functional ingredients were significantly lost within the processing of sea cucumber.