Antioxidant and antibacterial activities in 21 species of Indonesian sea cucumbers.

Sea cucumbers are marine organisms with uses in food, cosmetics, and medicine. This study aimed to identify Indonesian sea cucumbers with high antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Twenty-one sea cucumber species were used for this study. Antioxidant capacity was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazine assay. Antibacterial activity was assessed using the disk diffusion assay, whereas the resazurin-based assay was employed to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Volatile compounds possibly related to the biological activity of sea cucumbers were analyzed via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). had the strongest antioxidant capacity (IC = 14.22 ± 0.87 µg µL). displayed the best antibacterial activity against , whereas extract was most potent against . , which controlled most effectively while also being active against and , was the optimal antimicrobial species. and inhibited growth at 12.5 µg µL. The MBC tests indicated that the antibacterial activities of sea cucumbers at the MIC were bacteriostatic, rather than bactericidal, in nature. GC-MS analysis uncovered long-chain fatty acids that might be associated with the antibacterial activities of sea cucumbers.