**3. Anti-Inflammatory Compounds from Sea Cucumbers**

Sea cucumbers belong to the class of Holothuroidea and the phylum of Echinodermata. They are globally found in deep seas in benthic areas. Sea cucumbers are harvested for food and are widely consumed in China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Russia. There are approximately 1500 species of sea cucumbers, of which approximately 100 are known for human consumption [33]. Sea cucumbers have received particular attention for their potential therapeutic benefits owing to the availability of a variety of active compounds originating from them that possess medicinal properties [33]. Sea cucumbers are a rich source of bioactive polysaccharides, terpenoids, peptides, lipids, and fatty acids. As a result, sea cucumbers are used as a tonic food and folk medicine in Eastern Asia to cure numerous ailments. East Asian consumers consider sea cucumbers as one of the most luxurious and nutritious foods and use them as a traditional remedy for hypertension, rheumatism, asthma, cuts and burns, joint pain, back pain, wound injuries, kidney problems, reproductive disorders, constipation, and cancer [34,35]. The bioactive substances derived from various species of sea cucumbers and their proposed mechanisms of anti-inflammatory activity are described in the below sections and are summarized in Table 1.
