Sea Cucumber

Purported Benefits, Side Effects & More
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This information describes the common uses of Sea Cucumber, how it works, and its possible side effects.
Tell your healthcare providers about any dietary supplements you’re taking, such as herbs, vitamins, minerals, and natural or home remedies. This will help them manage your care and keep you safe.

What is it?

Although sea cucumber has been used in traditional medicine for several conditions, studies in humans are lacking.

Sea cucumber is a marine invertebrate related to sea urchins and star fish. It is dried and used in soups and other dishes and is considered a delicacy in Asian countries. Sea cucumber is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat fatigue, impotence, constipation, frequent urination, and joint pain. It is also a rich source of chondroitin sulfate, commonly used for arthritis.

What are the potential uses and benefits?

  • Cancer treatment
    Lab experiments suggest a saponin compound in sea cucumber may have antitumor properties, but it has not been studied in humans.
  • Longevity
    Sea cucumber is used in Chinese medicine to increase longevity, but there are no clinical data to support this use.
  • Impotence
    Although sea cucumber is used in Chinese medicine to treat impotence, there are no clinical data to back this use.
  • Joint pain
    Sea cucumber is a rich source of chondroitin sulfate, which may be helpful for osteoarthritis.
  • Frequent urination
    Sea cucumber is used in Chinese medicine to treat urinary problems, but clinical data are lacking.

What are the side effects?

Acute occupational exposure: 3 cases from workers processing sea cucumbers by hand caused skin, breathing, and eye irritation. These symptoms likely resulted from a compound that sea cucumbers use as a defense becoming airborne, and then inhaled or otherwise ingested by workers.

What else do I need to know?

Do Not Take if:

  • You are allergic to seafood.
  • You are taking anticoagulants: The polysaccharides present in sea cucumber may increase the effects of anticoagulants, increasing the risk of bleeding.