Objective: To establish a determination method of the total saponin content in sea cucumber body wall. To compare the total saponin content of dry sea cucumber body wall in 11 kinds of different types of sea cucumber and 8 bitches of Pearsonothuria graeffei. Method: The absorption of the sample solution was measured at 546 nm and the saponin contents were calculated against oleanolic acid by spectrophotometry.vanillin-glacial acetic acid 5% was used as the chromogenic agent. Result: The method is stable and reliable. Obvious difference was observed in contents between different kinds of sea cucumber body wall.Total saponin content of P. graeffei is high among all species. Saponins contents of the market sales P. graeffei ares between 3.16%-5.27%. Conclusion: The assay method used in this paper is simple

accurate and reproducible

which can be used for saponin content determination of sea cucumber. By the resultwe can have a comprehensive understanding of saponin content of sea cucumbers in Chinese marketing. P. graeffei can serve as a good resource for preparation of sea cucumber total saponins.