Variation in Protein, Carbohydrate and Lipid Content in the Body Wall of Commercial Sea Cucumber Holothuria spinifera (Theel, 1886) in Relation to Reproductive Stages

Abstract

The dry body wall from sea cucumbers, is ‘beche-demer’,
is an important item of trade in the developing
countries in the Indo-Pacific region. A study was
conducted to assess the variation in biochemical
constituents of the body wall of commercial sea
cucumber Holothuria spinifera concerning the reproductive
stages. The body wall of sea cucumbers
belong to eight reproductive stages were pooled and
dried in hot air oven at 80oC for 48 h. Standard
procedures estimated the protein, total carbohydrate
and total lipids. The mean values of proteins,
carbohydrate and lipid content in the body wall of
H. spinifera were 17.2, 2.8 and 1.3%, respectively. The
highest concentration of these organic constituents
during the maturing stages, decline during the postspawning
periods indicating their role as the source
of energy during gametogenesis. The one-way
ANOVA on the differences in the mean protein,
carbohydrate and lipid content in the body wall to
the reproductive stages indicated a high level of
significance (p<0.001).