top of page

Why Everyone Is Talking About Uni (Sea Urchin sushi)

Anyone who has ever tried sushi will know that the Japanese have mastered the art of seafood and rice.

There is one particular dish that people keep asking me about, Uni, or Sea Urchin Sushi.

Uni is the gonads (they produce the roe) of sea urchins. Eating gonads might not be everyone's cup of tea, so why is everyone talking about this sushi then?

(the sea urchins gonads are the orange like segments in the photo.)

Now if you have eaten uni and like it, you LOVE it! it has almost become a compulsory order when going to a sushi bar. But why this obsession?

Uni has a 'euphoria-causing chemical', similar to the ones in cannabis! Yep, uni can make you high! These chemicals are found in really small quantities in the sushi.

For the science, the chemical is a neurotransmitter called anadamide, also known as AEA or aachidonoylethanolamide.

These are natural chemicals found in the gonads in sea urchins, and are thought to be important for their reproduction. Some scientist have tried hybridized the anadamides from the sea urchins with the psychoactive chemicals found within marijuana to help study the endocannabinoid systems.

Anandamides have been studied in two sea urchins so far, the European sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus, and the North Pacific purple sea urchin, Strongulocentrotus purpuratus. These animals are regularly caught for uni, along with a host of other species. Testing to see if levels of anandamide changes its concentrations in other species.

Now that is the type of science i can sink my teeth into, sign me up!

bottom of page