Chemical substances and their activities in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus: A review

Apostichopus japonicus, also known as Stichopus japonicus, with medicinal and food homologous figures, is a globally recognized precious ingredient with extremely high nutritional value. There is no relevant review available through literature search, so this article selects the research articles through the keywords sea cucumber and Apostichopus japonicus (Stichopus japonicus) in six professional databases, such as Wiley, PubMed, ScienceDirect, ACS, Springer, and Web of Science, from 2000 to the present, summarizing the extraction, isolation, and purification methods for the four major categories (polysaccharides, proteins and peptides, saponins, and other components) of the A. japonicus chemical substances and 10 effective biological activities of A. japonicus. Included are anticoagulation, anticancer/antitumor activities, hematopoiesis, regulation of gut microbiota, and immune regulatory activities that correspond to traditional efficacy. Literature support is provided for the development of medicines and functional foods and related aspects that play a leading role in future directions.

Automated summary

This article summarizes the extraction, isolation, and purification methods for the chemical substances of Apostichopus japonicus as well as its ten effective biological activities through a literature review from six professional databases. These research findings are important for the development of related products.