The ''Gamat'', which is a Malay word for

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class (biology), class Holothuroidea ( ). They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number be ...

(''holothuroidea''), refers to medicinal remedies derived from several species of the sea cucumber family. It has been used traditionally by the Malays and local indigenous in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

to relieve back pain, treating

bruise A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur c ...

, minor

wound A wound is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs. Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying diseas ...

s and

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...

s, as well as a tonic to provide extra

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

to the body. A research conduct by

Universiti Malaysia Sabah Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS; English: University of Malaysia Sabah) is a public university in Malaysia. It was officially established on 24 November 1994 as the ninth public university in the country. The university is located on a 999-acre ...

(UMS) in 2007 to find out the usage of traditional medicine among the

ethnic groups An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

in a public market in the eastern coast of Tawau District found that the

Bugis The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic groupthe most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassarese and Torajan), in the south-western province of Sula ...

with the most usage with 40%, followed by

Sama-Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...

with 28%, with ''Gamat'' oil (''minyak gamat'') and ''Eucalyptus'' oil (''minyak kayu putih'') are most commonly used by the community.

Uses

Sea cucumbers are found in various colours; some are black, white, or grey, and striped with the golden sea cucumber ('' Stichopus horrens''), which is commonly used for medical purposes. 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 systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...

. The ''Stichopus variegatus'' are used in the production of traditional ''Gamat'' oil, ointment, and gel in both

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and Malaysia. In the Malaysia's state of

Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...

, ''gamat'' oil is traditionally used by the local Kelantanese Malays to heal childbirth wounds, particularly those after

vaginal delivery In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...

. The ''Stichopus variegatus'' extract also shows to be effective in reducing the gastrointestinal worm burden on stray cats. Another species '' Stichopus chloronotus'' is used for combating various types of

ringworm Dermatophytosis, also known as tinea and ringworm, is a mycosis, fungal infection of the skin (a dermatomycosis), that may affect skin, hair, and nails. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the a ...

infections, which are formulate into

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

ointment A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...

lotion Lotion is a low-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to the skin. By contrast, creams and gels have higher viscosity, typically due to lower water content. Lotions are applied to external skin with bare hands, a brush, a clea ...

or solution. ''Teripang Emas'' ('' Stichopus herrmanni''), a type of Indonesian ''gamat'' () 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. A research by Indonesian Dental Faculty on rats found the administration of ''teripang emas'' powder can reduce the risk of oral candidiasis with 0.09mg/kgBW dose of ''stichopus hermanii'' are able to reduce the thickness of the tongue epithelium in the group exposed to smoke and induced by ''

candida albicans ''Candida albicans'' is an opportunistic pathogenic yeast that is a common member of the human gut flora. It can also survive outside the human body. It is detected in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth in 40–60% of healthy adults. It is usu ...

''. The same faculty also found that the water extract of ''teripang emas'' has a positive benefit in the wound healing process.

Scarcity

Sea cucumbers in the waters of

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. Nelu ...

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

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{cite journal, url=https://journal.ipb.ac.id/index.php/currbiomed/article/download/44902/25138/, title=Penyembuhan luka sayatan menggunakan krim ekstrak teripang laut dan kunyit, trans-title=Healing of incision wound using sea cucumber and turmeric extracts cream, last1=Alpayet, first1=Rahmat, last2=Andi Mustika, first2=Aulia, last3=Rahma, first3=Anisa, last4=Andriyanto, first4=Andriyanto, last5=Noviyanti Sutardi, first5=Lina, lang=id, journal=Current Biomedicine, via=IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia, year=2023, volume=1, issue=2, pages=732–751, doi=10.29244/currbiomed.1.2.54-61 , eissn=2985-4784, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250601134838/https://journal.ipb.ac.id/index.php/currbiomed/article/download/44902/25138/, archive-date=1 June 2025, url-status=live, doi-access=free Southeast Asian traditional medicine

Uses

Scarcity

See also

References

Bibliography