Novel biomaterials and biotechnological applications derived from North Atlantic sea cucumbers: A systematic review

Although more than 1,700 species of sea cucumbers have been documented, relatively few have been exploited. In this chapter, we have carried out a systematic review of the available scientific information for the potential of four North Atlantic sea cucumber species–Cucumaria frondosa, Parastichopus tremulus, Holothuria tubulosa, and H. forskali–and their associated microbiota to be used for the development of novel materials and products with food and biomedical applications. The review has been done in line with the requirements of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Thus, the knowledge regarding the biomedical tissue regeneration potential of sea cucumber collagen; the structure and functions of bioactives like chondroitin sulfate, fucoidan, frondanols, n-3 PUFA-enriched phospholipids, and bioactive peptide hydrolysates; and the applications of different microorganisms from the studied microbiota in the selected sea cucumber species have been reviewed. The status of existing cell culture lines has been defined as highly deficient, while most bioactives and collagen products are still not marketed or fully developed.