The changes in chemical composition of Holothuria tubulosa (Gmelin, 1788) with ambient‐drying and oven‐drying methods

In this study, the nutritional properties of fresh (F), boiled (B), ambient‐dried (Holothuria tubulosa) (DA, 23 ± 2°C) and oven‐dried sea cucumber (DO, 45 ± 1°C) were compared in terms of proximate composition and fatty acid profiles. The results of the proximate analyses showed that the highest moisture content (86.76%) was determined in fresh samples, whereas the lowest moisture content (9.35%) was obtained in the oven‐dried group (DO). The crude fat and protein contents were in the range of 0.19% (B) to 0.87% (DA) and 12.30% (F) to 62.13% (DA), respectively. The highest ash content (30.30%) was obtained in group DO, while the lowest ash content (0.61%) was observed in the boiled samples (B). According to fatty acid analyses, there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the two drying methods. The monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) (21.405%) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (36.018%) contents of H. tubulosa were high. Holothuria tubulosa can be used as protein and PUFA sources. Comparing the two methods, oven‐drying is better in terms of preservation, whereas drying at the ambient temperature is better in terms of nutrient value.