The word Gamat, the

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

word for

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuria ...

, refers to medicinal remedies derived from several species of the

Holothuroidea Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuria ...

family.

Uses

The golden sea cucumber ('' Stichopus horrens'') is commonly used. Tripang Emas is usually the dried, powdered bodies of sea cucumbers made into a lotion or other topical salve. It is sometimes mixed into clay and applied to the face as a mask treatment, or put in tea and consumed for stomach complaints. Users believe that a solution of sea cucumbers can heal cuts, skin eruptions, and ulcers, and claim that it has a beneficial effect on the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...

Scarcity

Sea cucumbers in the waters of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

have been over-harvested to supply consumers of the folk remedy, and as a result the animal and its products are becoming scarce. Efforts to restock the fishery have not generally been successful. Recently, a sea cucumber

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

operation was opened on the shores of several Malaysian islands to increase the gamat supply.

Uses

Scarcity

See also