Current prospects of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical use of sea cucumbers

Sea cucumbers are a group of marine invertebrates harvested throughout tropical and subtropical regions. In addition to their nutritional value, they have economic importance in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The most frequently consumed portion is the body wall, which also contains most of the active constituents known to have anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and other bioactive properties. This review covers the literature from the last decade (2011–2020) regarding the bioprospecting of sea cucumbers to discover resources for pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.