Fat characteristics and fatty acid profile of sea cucumbers (Holothuria Scabra) obtained from the coasts of the Bushehr province -Iran

Sea cucumbers are belonging to echinoderms and one of the important members of the food chain in temperate ecosystems and tropical coral reefs. The medicinal and nutritional uses of these invertebrates are primordial; and are important as ecological, biological and economic properties. Holothuria Scabra, as one of the most valuable commercial species of sea cucumber in the world, is the dominant species in many Persian Gulf coasts such as the Bushehr province coasts. Conspicuous characteristics such as the use of inexpensive foods in their culture, the rather rapid, easy and low cost growth and reproduction, the possibility of culture with other fish, reduce the organic substrate in pools, the broad tolerance in water factors changes such as salinity and temperature; it has selected them to culture.It seems they are containing the significant amounts of nutrients, especially appreciated fatty acids. Therefore, the aims of the current study are determination of total fat content, quality and quantity evaluations of some physicochemical parameters such as acid value (AV), peroxide value (PV), and refractive index (RI) as well as, identify the profile of fatty acids in the fat. In this study, after collecting the 36 samples of sea cucumbers from the coasts of the bushehr province, sample preparation, and extraction of fat, their fatty acids profile were analyzed using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The peroxide and the acid values were 0.62±0.0435 and 0.7553±0.0034. The optical refractive index of the oil was 1467 at 26°C, and total fat was also 2%. Among 19 identified fatty acids obtained from the GC analysis of Holothuria Scabra oil, fatty acids: heneicosanoic acid, linoleic acid, palimitic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, and Meristic acid, with respectively amounts of 40.81%, 27.5%, 15.24%, 4.73%, 4.46% and 2.38% had the highest values, and other fatty acids were negligible. In a current study, the total amount of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, were respectively 59.194% and 40.806%. Evaluation of H. Scabra oil revealed that the sea cucumber is a rich source of fatty acids, particularly unusual and rare fatty acids, such as heneicosanoic acid with different uses in pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic, and industrial areas. In accordance with the valuable biological effects of heneicosanoic acid such as inhibition of p53; it is recommended some studies such as their anticancer effects; also, because of the adequate geographical conditions at Bushehr, it is proposed the culture of these advantageous animals.