1H NMR spectroscopy for identification of metabolic profile fluctuations in the extract, powder and pellet produced from sea cucumber (Holothuria leucospilota)

Sea cucumbers are recognized as a huge source of bioavailable, medicinal and food-drug-rich bioactive compounds that can be extensively used as a nutritional supplement. Since most supplements in the market come in the forms of pellet, powder or extract, in the present study, metabolite profiles of these three supplement forms of sea cucumber (Holothuria leucospilota) were investigated using H-1 NMR spectroscopy and metabolomics approach. The results of multivariate (PCA) and univariate (ANOVA) analyses showed that most of the metabolites in the extract treatment were affected by the processing and eliminated in powder and pellet treatments due to the destructive effects of the processing techniques. In this regard, based on the loadings plot the most effective metabolites in the trend of changes included glutamine, sarcosine, leucine, succinate, serotonin and ethylene glycol. The powder and the pellet treatments were largely similar to each other and had the same effects on metabolites with loose or change in many metabolites such as anserine, arabinose, ferulate, glycerate, isocitrate, N6-acetyllysine, theophylline, thymidine, thymine and vanillate compared to the extract. Therefore, we recommend the extract form as a suitable product for commercialization, despite the need for refrigeration equipment for transportation and sale.