Gamat - Ginseng of the sea

In Malaysia, sea cucumbers are called gamat, ibu gamat, bat or balat. The name gamatapplies to the Stichopus species of sea cucumber, which is known to contain bio-active substances that destroy micro-organisms, especially fungi. Among the Chinese, it is known as hai shen or "ginseng of the sea"? Sea cucumbers are eaten as delicacies and are an excellent source of protein. It is prepared in soups and used in medicinal preparations. It is traditionally used by the Chinese to treat high blood pressure, asthma, internal bleeding, muscle weakness, and to enhance vitality and sexual function. In promoting healing after surgery, its effectiveness is considered to be even better than haruan fish (Channa striata). Coastal inhabitants in Sabah (East Malaysia) bathe in water soaked with sea cucumbers, and eat them to treat epilepsy, to heal wounds, relieve constipation, and remove dead cells from the skin. It is also rubbed on the skin infected by ringworms. Protein makes up about 44% of the dry weight of a sea cucumber, carbohydrates between 1 and 5%, and fats generally about 1%. Sea cucumbers also possess Saponin. Collagen from the body wall of sea cucumber is rich in protein and certain essential amino acids. Purified sea cucumber extract (air gamat) comes from the internal part of the body, and sea cucumber oil (minyak gamat) is processed from the tissues. They are used as remedies for wounds, lung ailments, parasitic skin infections, backaches, joint/rheumatic pains, heartburn/gastritis, allergies, stomach and mouth ulcers, and for promoting womb healing after delivery. Sea cucumbers are also rich in minerals that vary among species. They contain antioxidants including vitamin E, essential fatty acids including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and decosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Vitamin E is an antioxidant, essential for fertility, which slows down the degeneration process of cells and hence delays aging. EPA is crucial for healing wounds and restoring cells. By reducing blood clots in the large and small blood vessels, EPA is anti-thrombotic and lowers the risk of stroke. Gamat is much more than a delicacy - it is a safe and nutritious form of food, and also has a wide range of medicinal properties.

Gamat atau Teripang laut adalah hewan laut yang sudah lama dikenal oleh penduduk sekitar selat malaka sebagai obat tradisional penyembuh luka. Sudah menjadi kebiasaan dari jaman dulu bagi nelayan didaerah itu untuk meminum ektrak gamat sebelum melaut. Walhasil kebiasaan itu membuat mereka kuat dalam melaut. Di Pulau Langkawi, Kedah, gamat – teripang dalam Bahasa Malaysia – digunakan sebagai obat luka ringan, sakit sendi, radang, asma, paru-paru, tekanan darah tinggi, dan kencing manis. Sebagai sumber protein teripang mempercepat penyembuhan luka dalam setelah pembedahan, bersalin normal, dan caesar. Regenerasi sel Teripang cespleng menyembuhkan berbagai penyakit. Kemampuannya dalam regenerasi sel jadi alasan utama teripang dipakai menyembuhkan berbagai penyakit,” kata dr Pieter A. W. Pattinama, RS PGI Cikini, Jakarta. Ia memperbaiki sel yang rusak. Di alam regenerasi sel terjadi saat teripang menghindari musuh, lingkungannya tercemar, dan kenaikan suhu air. Kekenyalan jaringan dinding tubuh menyebabkan pemecahan sel kulit luar dan kloaka. Saat itu juga saluran pernapasan, pencernaan, dan gonad terburai keluar melalui anus atau dinding tubuh yang terpecah. Dalam waktu 9 – 90 hari, teripang kembali utuh. Regenerasi sel juga karena tubuh teripang menjadi habitat belut laut. Anggota keluarga Carapidae seukuran kelingking itu tinggal di perut teripang dan menyantap bahan organik di dalam tubuh. Itu tak membahayakan teripang, sebab ia mampu menumbuhkan kembali sel yang hilang dalam waktu singkat. Selain mampu meregenerasi sel, teripang kaya akan nutrisi. “Senyawa aktif terbanyak berupa antioksidan, baik untuk perbaikan sel tubuh manusia,” ujar dokter alumnus Universitas Indonesia itu. Menurut Prof Dr Ridzwan Hashim dari Universitas Kebangsaan Malaysia teripang mengandung 86% protein. Proteinnya mudah diuraikan oleh enzim pepsin. Dari jumlah itu sekitar 80% berupa kolagen. Itu sebagai pengikat jaringan dalam pertumbuhan tulang dan kulit. Dalam pertumbuhan tulang, suplemen kalsium saja tidak cukup, lantaran tulang terdiri dari kalsium fosfat dan kolagen sebagai pengisi. Tanpa kolagen tulang menjadi rapuh dan mudah pecah bak kaca. Sebaliknya bila tanpa kalsium, tulang akan kenyal seperti karet. Kandungan lain adalah mucopolusacharida (MPS) populer sebagai glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Dalam bentuk kondritin sulfat memulihkan penyakit-penyakit sendi dan membangun kembali tulang rawan. GAGs sintesis dijual di maskapai penerbangan Singapore Airlines. Zat itu menghilangkan linu sendi akibat duduk terlalu lama. Cara kerjanya dengan merangsang tubuh mensekresikan cairan synovial untuk lubrikasi persendian. “MPS bersama GAGs memberikan efek lendir pada dinding sel,” kata Dr Muhilal, ahli gizi dari Pusat Penelitian dan Pengembangan Gizi, Bogor. Artinya teripang berfungsi sebagai antithrombogenik untuk mencegah penggumpalan melalui pengenceran darah. Omega 3 Khasiat teripang juga didukung oleh kandungan EPA dan DHA – keduanya termasuk asam lemak omega 3. Faedahnya menghambat proses penuaan, menurunkan kolesterol jahat LDL dan VLDL dalam tubuh sehingga mengurangi risiko penyakit jantung. Teripang tidak mengandung kolesterol, baik untuk orang yang punya penyakit jantung,” kata Sinru Sani Yang, ahli pengobatan cina di Kelapagading, Jakarta Utara. Menurut Muhilal, EPA dan DHA yang berantai panjang dan berikatan rangkap memulihkan jaringan yang rusak serta meningkatkan kinerja otak dan mata. Meningkatnya kinerja indra penglihatan karena fungsi mineral seng dalam mengurai karoten menjadi vitamin A. Ada 200 macam enzim membutuhkan seng agar berfungsi,” ujar doktor Biokimia Gizi alumnus University of Liverpool. Seng juga dibutuhkan prostat. Jika jumlah seng pada prostat tidak memadai, terjadi pembengkakan atau hipertrofi . Prof Mohamad Yusuf dari klinik Citra Insani, Sukabumi, yakin gamat memperkuat kerja ginjal untuk menyaring zat-zat yang masuk ke organ itu. Fungsi itu optimal jika diolah, bersih dari pasir dan bau asin laut. Jika tidak, memacu kerusakan ginjal. Mineral lainnya adalah kromium membantu kinerja insulin. Caranya melalui penyerapan glukosa berlebih dalam darah dan menyedot glukosa masuk jaringan darah lebih cepat. Ini menyebabkan konsumsi teripang mencegah serta memulihkan penyakit diabetes mellitus.

Anti HIV Penelitian terbaru Institut Kimia Universitas Los Banos, Filipina, mengungkap teripang dapat menjadi agen antitumor dan sebagai obat Human Immunodefi siensy Virus (HIV). Yang paling berpengaruh adalah gula bernama lektin. Senyawa lektin bersifat mitogenik atau sel berkembang biak cepat dan antimikroba. Selain itu, lektin efektif melawan kankerotot pada tikus serta kanker paru-paru manusia dengan dosis masing-masing 5 dan 50 mikrogram. Lektin berefek terapi bagi HIV karena mampu menggumpalkan sel jahat. Itu terlihat ketika diuji dalam laboratorium dengan menggunakan sel limfoid. Teripang membersihkan pasir laut dari serpihan endapan benda-benda atau lumpur organik di dasar laut. Ia mengisap, melumatnya, dan yang tersisa adalah pasir bersih. Senjatanya berupa gas holotrin yang beracun bagi ikan, tetapi hanya berakibat iritasi mata dan kulit pada manusia. Karena ampuh membunuh ikan, racun gamat kini dikembangkan sebagai obat antiseptik alami untuk melawan kanker dan infeksi. Saat ini sudah beredar produk ekstrak teripang. Stichopus hermanii yang lebih dikenal dengan teripang emas diolah menjadi produk suplemen berupa jeli maupun kapsul, sampo, krim dan gel, pasta gigi, krim badan, serta minyak urut. Dengan segenap keistimewaan itu harapan kesembuhan disandarkan pada mentimun laut. (Vina Fitriani) One of the local products worth looking is the healing ointment called gamat. Gamat potion is made from golden sea cucumber juice. It is a Malay traditional medicine and has been used to cure various ailments for over 300 years. Gamat is also believed to give skin a soft and smooth texture. Malays boil and drink air gamat (gamat water) to treat cuts, sores and inflammation, peptic ulcers or to revitalise the body. Mothers who had recently given birth also take gamat for quick healing. Air gamat is also used as a vitality tonic when mixed with other traditional herbs like tongkat ali - the famous rainforest root. How The Healing Power of Gamat Was Discovered A very long time ago - a fisherman stepped on one of these sea cucumbers (gamat) and had his legs glued with the sticky white secretion from these slimy sea creatures. Feeling angry, he took an axe and hacked up all the sea cucumbers around him. The next morning, he found that all the hacked-up sea cucumbers are all healed and whole again. Gamat (Sea Cucumber) If the sea cucumbers could heal themselves, then it should also be able to heal people’s wounds. From then, the islanders became using gamat to cure various ailments and thus, the gamat industry began. Gamat can be found in distant, isolated islands where the water is cool and clean. They thrive from 0.6m to 3m under the sea. These spectacular sea creatures are active during the night and are very sensitive to sunlight. When they are exposed to the sun - they will 'melt' and die. Prof Hassan Yaacob, a local gamat researcher and entrepreneur has carried aresearch on how gamat can activate cell proliferation at the Research Institute for Traditional Medicine in Toyama, Japan. Besides its proven efficacy in enhancing the bodys resistance towards various diseases, gamat is also known to contain a cell-growth factor that has the ability to accelerate the regeneration of biological cells, bone, collagen and rejuvenate skin. Believe It Or Not. In Japan, gamat has saved a life. A Japanese professor decided to test oral gamat on a 24-year-old girl who was in a coma due to the degeneration of her right lung at the University of Kyoto Hospital. Investigations showed that the girls lungs had collapsed and she had a slim chance of survival. She was given antibiotics and steroids but did not respond to the treatment. After giving her gamat through intranasal drip, the girl blinked her eyes in less than 24 hours. After five days, she showed signs of recovery. Three weeks later, she was discharged and new X-rays showed that her lung had rejuvenated.

One is to get the pure fluid and the other is mixed with coconut oil and plant extracts. In both processes, the sea cucumber is dumped into a huge barrel called rojamwhich is placed over a slow burning fire for three days. In the first process, no ingredients are added.Thus, you have the pure form of fluid which is called air gamat. In the second process, the coconut oil and secret plant ingredients are periodically added in throughout the three days. After the third day, you have an oily based substance called minyak gamat. The amazing thing about the whole cooking process is that you can dip your hand inside the fluid or oil and not be burnt! The processed sea cucumber or gamat is marketed in bottles. The pure type or ayer gamat is to be consumed orally. It is used to cure all internal ailments such as peptic ulcer, duodenal ulcer, bleeding piles and stomach aches. The mixed kind or minyak gamat is for external application. It is used to quicken the healing process of cuts and wounds.