Hydrogels constructed from pure biomacromolecules with multifunctions of good mechanical performances, ionic environmental stability, self-healing, biocompatibility, and ionic conductivity are desirable but remain as a challenge. In this work, hydrogels composed of pure biomacromolecules of gelatin and sodium alginate were constructed through a simple repeated acid soaking–drying–swelling process. The obtained hydrogel with a physically cross-linked interpenetrated network of gelatin and sodium alginate contained 79% water and had a relatively high fracture tensile stress and strain of 0.46 MPa and 2.4, respectively. As the gel was cross-linked with a hydrogen bond and alginic acid, it exhibited good stability in a physiological saline solution. Furthermore, the gel exhibited good biocompatibility, self-healing properties, and ionic conductivity, demonstrating its excellent potential for applications in biomedical materials and biosensors.

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Taurine has been widely used as a growth‐ or health‐promoting additive in aquatic animals because of its multiple functions, while little work has been done on its effects on sea cucumbers, in spite of the occurrence of serious diseases. In this study, juvenile sea cucumbers (4.68 ± 0.04 g) were fed diets supplemented with taurine at 0% (control), 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2% for 8 wk. At the end of an 8‐wk feeding trial, growth performance of sea cucumbers was not significantly affected by dietary taurine (P > 0.05). However, dietary taurine significantly elevated intestinal lipase activities of sea cucumbers (P < 0.05). Intestinal amylase activity and trypsin activity in sea cucumbers did not show significant changes after animals were fed diets supplemented with taurine (P > 0.05). Dietary taurine at all five dosages significantly increased total antioxidant capacity in sea cucumbers, while superoxide dismutase activity in groups with dietary taurine at 0.25 and 0.5% was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). Therefore, it appears that taurine could be used as a potential feed additive to confer better health of farmed sea cucumbers.