Dr. Sands recommended using Sea Cumber & Coral Calcium with CMOtm. Sea Cucumber (Beche-de-Mer) is a seabed dwelling marine animal which feeds on microscopicalgae, absorbing nutrients from the organic matter. Sea Cucumber has been used for thousands of years by Asians as a culinary delicacy.

Tall Ships, Yankee Cutters, what precious cargo were they taking to the Far East? Pearls or gold?
NO, it was Sea Cucumber!

The Chinese have treasured Sea Cucumber since ancient times for prevention of disease and as a longevity tonic. Traditional Chinese medicine commonly uses sea cucumber in treating weakness, impotence, debility of the aged, constipation due to intestinal dryness, frequent urination, and joint problems.

Western medicine is successfully using Sea Cucumber to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, and connective tissue disorders. Australia has approved the use of sea cucumber as an over-the-counter treatment for arthritis and the Japanese have a patent using sea cucumber chondroitin sulfate for HIV therapy.

Beche de Mer (Sea Cucumber) is a marine animal related to starfish and sea urchins containing mucopolysaccharides, chondroitins, protein, vitamins A & C, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, sodium, and carbohydrates. The nutrient content of sea cucumbers is extremely broad, and total identification of each innate constituent will probably never be established. The University of Queensland Centre for Drug Design conducted a series of chromotographs that displayed "an enormous number of compounds". Some of the compounds identified unique to the animal kingdom include two types of triterpenoidal oligoglycosides, one type occurring with a sulfate group and the other without. Molecules of this general classification are abundant in the plant kingdom, but are quite rare among animal tissues. Other compounds found in abundance include analogues of monosaccharide structure and analogues of sulfated mucopolysaccharide configuration.

Sea Cucumber has shown an ability to balance prostaglandins, which regulate the inflammatory process. Sea cucumber has a cartilaginous body that serves as a rich source of mucopolysaccharides; mainly chondroitin sulfate, known for its ability to reduce arthritis pain. As little as 3 grams per day of the dried sea cucumber has been helpful in reducing arthralgia (joint problems). Chondroitin's action is similar to that of glucosamine sulfate, the main building block of chondroitin.

Chondroitin building blocks can be repeated numerous times. This is basically a glucose molecule (left potion) and glucosamine molecule (right portion), which has been sulfated (O3S, at the top). Long-chain sulfated polysaccharides, like chondroitin, also inhibit viruses.

Russian, Japanese, and Chinese studies reveal that sea cucumbers contain saponins (triterpene glycosides). These compounds are structure similar to the active constituents of ginseng, ganoderma, and other famous tonic herbs. Pharmacology studies indicate anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties of the sea cucumber saponins.

One of the sea cucumber saponins, representative of the structures commonly found in these organisms.

In addition, the sea cucumber oil contains two anti-inflammatory fractions. One fraction has fatty acids characteristic of those found in fish; they can be used as a substitute for fish oil in reducing inflammatory byproducts of fat metabolism, and to nourish the brain and heart. The main compounds of interest in fish oil are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid also found in sea cucumber, and DHA (docosahaenoic acid), unique to fish:

Stereochemical representations of EPA (left) and DHA (right). The double bond locations are different, causing a different bending of the structures.

The other oil fraction is a mixture of branched chain fatty acids, mainly 12-MTA (methyltetradecanoic acid). This compound, and the more widely studied variant, 13-MTA, are potent inhibitors of the 5-LOX (lypoxygenase) enzyme system. 5-LOX inhibitors are one of the key areas of modern drug development, with plans evolving to use the compounds in treatment of asthma, ulcerative colitis, and arthritis. In addition, cancer-inhibiting effects have been observed in preliminary studies with prostate cancer cell lines and other human cancer cells These fatty acids are thought to be produced by bacteria that live within the sea cucumbers; they are also produced by bacteria in other marine organisms, such as sponges and tunicates.

Sample branched chain fatty acid found in sea organisms. The central chain is a simple carbohydrate. These long chains can interact with cell membranes.

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