May 21, 2010 in Education, Gamat (Sea Cucumber) by admin

Gamat (Sea Cucumber)

Sea cucumber, or better known as Gamat has been used as alternative medicine in Malaysia for over 300 years. Traditionally, it is used to treat cuts, sores and inflammation, stomach ulcers or to revitalize the body because of its powerful healing capability. It is often used by mothers who have just given birth as a mean to speed up their healing process, and also help to relief post-surgery pain. Besides being valued for its flavor-enhancing properties, sea cucumber is widely regarded as a stimulant and aphrodisiac, especially in Chinese culture.

This local marine animal can be found mainly in sea floor almost everywhere. Its unique ability to loosen and tighten its body in order for it to maneuver into small space, up to the level where it could liquefy itself and pour into the space, is characterized by the catch collagen that forms their body wall. As a defense mechanism when being attacked, this creature will eject its tubules, and excrete a toxin which can kill any animal in the vicinity. The tubules will grow back as early as one and a half week. This healing property is the main reason it is widely used as traditional healing remedy. It is believed that the sea cucumber contains all the fatty acids necessary to play an active role in tissue repair.

Remarkably, these creatures have the ability to live for months, often up to half a year without feeding, although when they eventually starved, the sea cucumber will slowly shrink as it digests its own body mass to survive.

In China, it is regularly used in Chinese cuisine and commercially sold in dried, powdered form. In Malaysia however, the most common Gamat utilized is from of the species Stichopus horrens and are more famous for its benefits in pharmaceutical industry. Extracts are prepared and made into oil, cream or cosmetics. Some products are intended to be taken internally.

Harvesting and Processing Gamat

Gamat is collected by a technique called ‘trepang’, which include spearing, diving, dredging or simply picking the animals up by hand when they are exposed at low tide. Traditionally, fishers process Gamat by putting them into a wok on low heat without adding water. After the initial cooking, they are transferred into a wok of boiling water where some papaya (Carica papaya) leaves or lime (calcium carbonate) have been added and the mixture is left to boil in order to soften its skin. They are then smoked or sun dried.

Extraction of Gamat is usually done in distilled water. The fatty acid components such as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which are the underlying elements for the healing property are also dissolved in the solution. However, different types of solvent used in extraction have been shown to provide better affinity to different types of fatty acids compound found in the extract (Fredalina et. al., 1999). For instance, higher percentage of EPA which is essential for overall mental health, was obtained using PBS (phosphate buffer saline) extraction, while DHA content which helps lower the risk of heart disease, increased when extracted in distilled water. Oleic acid composition that has the benefit of boosting memory also showed better affinity in PBS extraction whereas methanol/ethanol extraction was found to be better in obtaining higher amount of palmitic acid.

Medicinal Property of Gamat

Gamat is cholesterol-free. It is high in protein (55% of dry body weight) and contains 10-16% mucopolysaccharides (substances used for building cartilage) and saponins; it is helpful in reducing arthritic pain and pharmacological studies indicate that the saponins have anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties (Dharmananda, undated).

Research carried out by Malaysian scientists indicated that three types of antimicrobial agents were found in H. atra, which exhibited high activity against various types of yeast and fungi, but bacterial species showed resistance against these agents (Ibrahim et. al., 1992). However, some species of Gamat has also been found to have antibacterial property. When being extracted in PBS, the Gamat extract were able to inhibit the growth of all gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria tested (Ridzwan et. al., 1995).

Another attribute it is renowned for is the used of Gamat as a healing agent, which correlates to its ability to act as an analgestic or painkiller. This has been proved by a study showing that the water extract of Gamat body fluid significantly reduce the sensitivity of painful stimuli of mice, making them less susceptible to the abdominal pain triggered by acetic acid uptake (Ridzwan et. al., 2003).  Scientists from the University of Malaya also reported on the painkilling, anti-inflammatory and anti-itching properties of certain Gamat species (Awaluddin, 2001).

Studies carried out by Hawa et. al. (1999) showed that the body fluid of certain types of Gamat demonstrated antioxidant activity marked by the high level of SOD (superoxide mutase) antioxidant. This particular antioxidant is important to counter the damages made by oxygen free radicals formed from normal metabolism and other external factors such as pollution and ultra violet radiation, which could cause premature ageing, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Conclusion

The extract of Gamat has been incorporated in many cosmetic and health products as Gamat itself is a natural source of Vitamin E, antioxidant and essential fatty acids such as EPA and DHA, possess antimicrobial activity and other numerous benefits. They feed mostly on plankton and are less susceptible to mercury poisoning than fish, and has been certified to be Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) as endorsed by the US Food And Drug Administration (US FDA).

Reference:

Awaluddin, A. 2001. Pharmaceuticals. In: The Encyclopedia of Malaysia: The Seas. p.18-119. Ong, J. E. and W. K. Gong (Eds.). Editions Didier Millet, Kuala Lumpur.

B. D. Fredalina, B. H. Ridzwan, A. A. Zainal Abidin, M. A. Kaswandi, H. Zaiton, I. Zali, P. Kittakoop and A. M. Mat Jais (October 1999). “Fatty acid compositions in local sea cucumber, Stichopus chloronotus, for wound healing”. General Pharmacology 33 (4): 337–340.

B.H. Ridzwan , T.C. Leong and S.Z. Idid (2003). “The Antinociceptive Effects of Water Extracts from Sea Cucumbers Holothuria leucospilota Brandt, Bohadschia marmorata vitiensis Jaeger and Coelomic Fluid from Stichopus hermanii”. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences 6 (24): 2068–2072.

Dharmananda, S. undated. Sea cucumber: food and medicine. http://www.itmonline.org/arts/seacuke.htm.

Hawa, I., Zulaikah, M., Jamaludin, M., Zainal Abidin, A.A., Kaswandi, M.A. & Ridzwan, B H. 1999. The potential of the coelomic fluid in sea cucumber as an antioxidant. Malaysian Journal of Nutrition, 5:55-59.

Ibrahim, C.M., Darah, I., Khaw, A.G. & Satheesh, N. 1992. Aktiviti antimikrob oleh atratoksin daripada timun laut tempatan, Holothuria atra (Jaeger). Prosiding Simposium Sumber Alam Kebangsaan Pertama, 2:93-100

Ridzwan, B. H., M. A.Kaswandi, Y. Azman and M. Fuad, 1995. Screening for antibacterial agents in three species of sea cucumber from coastal areas of Sabah. Gen. Pharmacol., 26: 1539-1543.