Ocean Acidification

Highlights

• Thermal stress modulates protein digestibility and bioaccessibility in I. badionotus.
• Induction at 28 °C maximized protein digestibility and intestinal bioaccessibility.
• Sublethal 34 °C for 12 h peaked digestibility; longer exposure caused decline.
• Intestinal bioaccessibility was the most sensitive indicator to pre-harvest stress.
• Pre-harvest thermal and pH stress can alter the macronutrient nutritional quality in I. badionotus.

Abstract

The impact of in vivo thermal and pH stress on the macronutrient nutritional quality of the sea cucumber Isostichopus badionotus remains poorly understood from a food-nutrition perspective. This study investigated how acute induction temperatures (16–36 °C) and sublethal thermal exposure (34 °C, 3–48 h), combined with two ambient pH levels (7 and 8), modulate in vitro protein, lipid and carbohydrate digestibility and protein bioaccessibility of the sea cucumber I. badionotus, a collagen-rich tropical food, using the standardized static INFOGEST gastrointestinal simulation. In the acute induction experiment, protein digestibility, total bioaccessibility and intestinal bioaccessibility were strongly affected by temperature, with a narrow optimum at 28 °C (digestibility ∼58–66%; intestinal bioaccessibility ∼64–68% at both pH levels). Lipid digestibility varied within a relatively narrow range across treatments, whereas carbohydrate digestibility showed a marked temperature × pH interaction, with higher values at 28 and 36 °C under alkaline conditions. In the sublethal-stress experiment, protein digestibility and bioaccessibility followed a time-dependent pattern, with a peak at 12 h followed by a decline at 24–48 h, consistent with patterns of progressive collagen oxidation reported in other holothuroids. Across both experiments, intestinal bioaccessibility was the most responsive nutritional indicator to pre-harvest stress. These results demonstrate that pre-harvest thermal and pH stress can qualitatively alter the macronutrient nutritional quality of I. badionotus, with implications for harvest timing, processing optimization and seafood quality management under ongoing ocean warming and acidification.

Graphical abstract

Live sea cucumbers (Isostichopus badionotus) were exposed in vivo to controlled thermal and pH stress (16–36 °C, pH 7–8; 6 h acute induction and 3–48 h sublethal exposure), inducing proteolysis, oxidative responses, heat-shock protein expression and structural remodeling of the collagen-rich body-wall matrix. Samples were then subjected to standardized INFOGEST in vitro digestion (oral, gastric and intestinal phases with pepsin, pancreatin and bile salts), followed by dialysis at 12–14 kDa to quantify intestinal bioaccessibility. A narrow optimum at 28 °C and a sublethal window around 12 h at 34 °C tended to maximize protein digestibility and intestinal bioaccessibility, whereas conditions outside this window were associated with increased oxidative crosslinking and reduced protein quality.

Gullian Klanian M., Sánchez Solís M. J., Cutz de Ocampo J. & Osorio Di Gianluca S., 2026. Pre-harvest thermal and pH stress modulate macronutrient digestibility and protein bioaccessibility of the sea cucumber Isostichopus badionotus under in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. Food Bioscience 84: 109757. doi: 10.1016/j.fbio.2026.109757. Article.