Design of novel functional food products enriched with bioactive extracts from holothurians for meeting the nutritional needs of the elderly

A lot of research effort has been invested in the last 20 years to provide sound proof of the traditionally recognized bioactive properties of sea cucumbers. However, these are not yet part of the Western consumer's diet and are only appreciated as traditional food at the Asian market. After previous in vitro molecular study of the antioxidant, antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory properties of sea cucumber hydrolysates from Parastichopus tremulus and Holothuria forskali on tissues from patients with heart disease, a design of novel functional foods has been carried out here with the hydrolysates to specifically meet some of the main health and nutritional requirements of the elderly Western population. After optimization of two-stage Protamex (R)-Pepsin enzyme hydrolysis the protein hydrolysate from H. forskali was selected as most promising, due to its higher antioxidant (170 mu mol TE/L) and antihypertensive properties, for incorporation in ready-made frozen and canned fish products. Its bioavailability of antioxidants was confirmed ex vivo, in a Ussing chamber model. The newly designed foods, enriched with H-forskali-protein (permitting "source of" labelling in the EU), Selenium, Iodine, total polifenols and antioxidants, have high bioavailability, as confirmed by nutritional and mouse intestine studies (70% total diffusion for salmon-and-spinach sauce ready-made frozen products).