Abstract:

An analytical method was established for identifying exogenous sugar in dried sea cucumber. An
easy and feasible method was applied to extract total sugar from dried sea cucumber, and then the total sugar
was determined to discriminate if exogenous sugar was added. In the present study, the optimal concentration of
extraction solvent, extraction time, temperature, and solid-liquid ratio were explored. The results showed that the
optimal conditions for extracting sugar from dried sea cucumber were determined as extraction at 40 ℃ for 60
min with shaking using 80% ethanol as the extraction at a solid/solvent ratio of 1:50 (g/mL). Phenol-sulfuric acid
method was used to measure the extracted exogenous total sugar. The linear range of this method was 0–80 mg/L.
The tested sample had good stability within 1 h and the precision of the method met the analytical requirements
with RSD less than 2%. Average recoveries from spiked samples of unsalted and salted dried sea cucumber
ranged from 82.97% to 98.68%, with standard deviation between 1.38% and 3.45%. This method is simple, stable
and precise, and can be used to identify exogenous sugar in dried sea cucumber without affecting endogenous
polysaccharides.

Key words: dried sea cucumber, total sugar, determination, exogenous, phenol-sulfuric acid method