Exploring edible bird nest's potential in mitigating Wi-Fi's impact on male reproductive health.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the protective effects of edible bird nest (EBN) against the detrimental impact of Wi-Fi on male reproductive health. Specifically, it examines whether EBN can mitigate Wi-Fi-induced changes in male reproductive hormones, estrogen receptors (ER), spermatogenesis, and sperm parameters. Methods: Thirty-six adult male rats were divided into six groups (n = 6): Control, Control EBN, Control E2, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi+EBN, and Wi-Fi+E2. Control EBN and Wi-Fi+EBN groups received 250 mg/kg/day EBN, while Control E2 and Wi-Fi+E2 groups received 12 µg/kg/day E2 for 10 days. Wi-Fi exposure and EBN supplementation lasted eight weeks. Assessments included organ weight, hormone levels (FSH, LH, testosterone, and E2), ERα/ERß mRNA and protein expression, spermatogenic markers (c-KIT and SCF), and sperm quality. Results: Wi-Fi exposure led to decreased FSH, testosterone, ERα mRNA, and sperm quality (concentration, motility, and viability). EBN supplementation restored serum FSH and testosterone levels, increased serum LH levels, and the testosterone/E2 ratio, and normalized mRNA ERα expression. Additionally, EBN increased sperm concentration in Wi-Fi-exposed rats without affecting motility or viability. Conclusions: EBN plays a crucial role in regulating male reproductive hormones and spermatogenesis, leading to improved sperm concentration. This could notably benefit men experiencing oligospermia due to excessive Wi-Fi exposure.

Determination of 3'-Sialyllactose in Edible Bird's Nests and the Effect of Stewing Conditions on the 3'-Sialyllactose Content of Edible Bird's Nest Products.

Sialyllactose is an acidic oligosaccharide that has an immune-protective effect against pathogens and contributes to developing the immune system and intestinal microbes. In this study, a method for the determination of 3'-sialyllactose by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was established. The sample was treated with 0.1% formic acid methanol solution, and the gradient elution was performed with 0.05% formic acid water and 0.1% formic acid acetonitrile. The hydrophilic liquid chromatographic column was used for separation. The results showed that the linearity was good in the concentration range of 1~160 µg/L. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method were 0.3 µg/kg and 1.0 µg/kg, the recovery range was 91.6%~98.4%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 1.5%~2.2%. This method is fast and sensitive. In addition, the 3'-sialyllactose content in edible bird's nest products produced by different processes was studied. It was found that within the tested range, 3'-sialyllactose in edible bird's nest products increased with the intensity of stewing and increased with the addition of sugar. In short, the results provided a new method for detecting the nutritional value of edible bird's nests, as well as a new direction for improving the nutritional value of edible bird's nest products.

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Edible Bird's Nest Based on Peptide Markers by LC-QTOF-MS/MS.

Edible bird's nest (EBN) is an expensive health food. There are many adulterants in the market. It remains challenging to discriminate EBN from its adulterants due to a lack of high-specificity markers. Besides, the current markers are confined to soluble fraction of EBN. Here, both soluble and insoluble fractions were analyzed by LC-QTOF-MS/MS. A total of 26 high-specificity peptides that were specific to EBN were selected as qualitative authentication markers. Among them, 10 markers can discriminate EBN from common adulterants, 13 markers discriminate white EBN from grass EBN/common adulterants, and 3 markers discriminate grass EBN from white EBN/common adulterants. Three of them, which showed high signal abundance (Peak area ≥ 106) and satisfactory linearity (R2 ≥ 0.995) with EBN references, were selected as the assay marker; and their peptide sequences were confidently identified by searching database/de novo sequencing. Based on these markers, a qualitative and quantitative analytical method was successfully developed and well-validated in terms of linearity, precision, repeatability, and accuracy. The method was subsequently applied to detect EBN products on the market. The results indicated that more than half of EBN products were not consistent with what the merchants claimed.

Edible bird's nest extract downregulates epidermal apoptosis and helps reduce damage by ultraviolet radiation in skin of hairless mice.

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether daily intake of edible bird's nest extract reduced ultraviolet-induced damage to skin. Twenty-one female HR-1/Hos mice were divided into control (C, n = 7), low-dose (2 mg/kg body weight/day of edible bird's nest extract) (L, n = 7), and high-dose (20 mg/kg body weight/day of edible bird's nest extract) (H, n = 7) groups. With their left back skin covered with aluminum sheet to prevent exposure, mice were radiated with either ultraviolet A (20 J/cm2) or ultraviolet B (40 mJ/cm2) in an alternate manner once daily for 10 weeks. They were gavaged either a solution of saline or edible bird's nest extract every day. The moisture content of the ultraviolet-exposed right back skin was significantly higher in H than in C or L. Histochemical analysis showed that the number of apoptotic epidermal cells on the ultraviolet-exposed skin was significantly lower in L and H than in C. In H, the mRNA expression of superoxide dismutase 2 was significantly higher on ultraviolet-exposed skin than on unexposed skin. Our data suggested that edible bird's nest extract enhanced superoxide dismutase 2 expression and downregulated apoptosis in their epidermis, which likely helped reduce skin damage.

Effect of ultrasound-assisted pretreatment in combination with heating on characteristics and antioxidant activities of protein hydrolysate from edible bird's nest co-product.

Protein hydrolysates (P-HS) from edible bird's nest co-product prepared without and with ultrasound (US) pretreatment in combination with heating before hydrolysis using alcalase at different concentrations were characterized. US treatment of co-product in water at 60% amplitude for 20 min, followed by heating at 95 °C for 3 h was done before enzymatic hydrolysis. The degree of hydrolysis (DH), yield and sialic acid (SL) content of P-HS samples were not different (p > 0.05) when 1 or 2% alcalase was used for hydrolysis. The highest protein content and lightness (L * ) were observed in P-HS prepared from co-product subjected to US treatment (60% amplitude for 20 min) using 1% alcalase for hydrolysis. When antioxidant activities of dried P-HS were determined, P-HS from co-product subjected to US treatment had higher DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities, ferrous reducing antioxidant power and oxygen radical absorbance capacity, compared to those prepared from non-US treated co-product. P-HS with higher DH contained greater amount of small peptides having MW lower than 1,883 Da. The P-HS produced under optimum condition had major essential amino acids (EA-A) including leucine, threonine, lysine and valine of 4.28, 3.53, 3.30 and 3.08%, respectively. Therefore, P-HS from co-product could serve as both nutrients and functional ingredients. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-022-05420-5.

Characteristics and qualities of edible bird's nest beverage as affected by thermal pasteurization and sterilization.

Edible bird's nest beverage (B-nest-Bev) was produced from edible bird's nest (B-nest) flakes using different thermal processes. Pasteurization of B-nest-Bev at a low temperature for a longer time (LTLT) or at a high temperature for a shorter time (HTST) resulted in lower CIE L * , CIE a * , CIE b * -values, and drained weight (p < 0.05) than sterilization (118 or 121 °C). Sterilized and pasteurized B-nest-Bev had similar soluble solid contents and pH (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, acidified beverages pasteurized via either LTLT or HTST process had a marked decrease in sialic acid content. In addition, drastic protein degradation occurred in pasteurized acidified beverages, regardless of the conditions used, ascertained by the disappearance of major protein bands. However, polymerization of proteins took place in sterilized samples, irrespective of the temperature used. After digestion in a gastrointestinal tract model system (GIMs), all samples had increased (p < 0.05) antioxidant activities including DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). B-nest-Bev subjected to HTST pasteurization or sterilization at 121 °C had the best appearance and acceptability among all the treatments used. Therefore, thermal processes directly affected the properties and acceptability of B-nest-Bev.

Characterization of Polar and Non-Polar Compounds of House Edible Bird's Nest (EBN) from Johor, Malaysia.

This work investigated the polar (PC: protein, amino acid and metabolite) and non-polar (NPC: fatty acid) compounds and bioactivity characteristics of the EBN harvested from the state of Johor in Malaysia. The electrophoretic gels exhibited 15 protein bands (16-173 kD) with unique protein profile. Amino acids analysis by AccQ⋅Tag method revealed 18 types of amino acids in EBN. Metabolite profiling was performed using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (HPLC-QTOF/MS) technique and a total of 54 compounds belonging to different groups were detected and identified. These findings help to uncover the relation of therapeutic activity of EBN. The EBN was further extracted with AcOEt and BuOH. The AcOEt extract was fractionated into three fractions (F1 -F3 ), and the high triglyceride content in F2 was verified by gC-FID. The three groups of fatty acids discovered in EBN are 48.43 % of poly-unsaturated (PUFA), 25.35 % of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and 24.74 % of mono-unsaturated fat (MUFA). This is the first time to report results ofEBN, BuOH, and AcOEt extracts and of fraction F2 (TEBN) on their analysis for their antioxidant activities by DPPH, ABTS and catalase assay and for their paraoxonase and anti-tyrosinase activities. The results showed that TEBN exhibited the significant bioactivity in all assays. These findings suggest that TEBN is a good source for natural bioactive compounds in promoting body vigor. Current work widened the content of EBN especially on the triglyceride and also marked the content of specific location (Johor, Malaysia) of EBN origin.

Recovery of value-added glycopeptides from edible bird's nest (EBN) co-products: enzymatic hydrolysis, physicochemical characteristics and bioactivity.

BACKGROUND: Processing of edible bird's nest (EBN) requires extensive washing to remove impurities and produces huge amounts of EBN co-products, which contain mainly feathers with glycoproteins attached, which are usually discarded. This study was conducted to recover the valuable EBN glycoproteins from the waste material. Enzymatic hydrolysis was applied to recover EBN glycopeptides from EBN co-products (EBNcoP ) and processed cleaned EBN (EBNclean ) was used as control, which were then freeze-dried into EBN hydrolysates (EBNhcoP and EBNhclean , respectively). RESULTS: The recovery yield for EBNhclean and EBNhcoP were 89.09 ± 0.01% and 47.64 ± 0.26%, respectively, indicating nearly 50% of glycopeptide can be recovered from the waste material. Meanwhile, N-acetylneuraminic acid, a major acid sugar in EBN glycoproteins, of EBNhcoP increased by 229% from 58.6 ± 3.9 to 192.9 ± 3.1 g kg-1 , indicating the enzymatic hydrolysis removed impurities and thus enhanced the N-acetylneuraminic acid content. Total soluble protein was more than 330 g kg-1 for all the samples. Colour parameter showed that hydrolysate samples have greater L* (lightness) values. Chroma result indicates the intensity of all the samples were low (< 11). Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum displayed that the EBNhcoP exhibited similar functional groups with EBNhclean , indicating that the EBNcoP has similar functionality as EBNclean . Significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) activities were reported in EBNhcoP after the enzymatic reaction. CONCLUSION: EBNhcoP were successfully recovered from low value EBNcoP with enhanced antioxidant activities. The findings of this work are beneficial for the EBN industry to reduce wastage and enhance economic values of EBN co-products, both economically and nutritionally. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Electrochemical Biosensor for Nitrite Based on Polyacrylic-Graphene Composite Film with Covalently Immobilized Hemoglobin.

A new biosensor for the analysis of nitrite in food was developed based on hemoglobin (Hb) covalently immobilized on the succinimide functionalized poly(n-butyl acrylate)-graphene [poly(nBA)-rGO] composite film deposited on a carbon-paste screen-printed electrode (SPE). The immobilized Hb on the poly(nBA)-rGO conducting matrix exhibited electrocatalytic ability for the reduction of nitrite with significant enhancement in the reduction peak at −0.6 V versus Ag/AgCl reference electrode. Thus, direct determination of nitrite can be achieved by monitoring the cathodic peak current signal of the proposed polyacrylic-graphene hybrid film-based voltammetric nitrite biosensor. The nitrite biosensor exhibited a reproducible dynamic linear response range from 0.05⁻5 mg L−1 nitrite and a detection limit of 0.03 mg L−1. No significant interference was observed by potential interfering ions such as Ca2+, Na⁺, K⁺, NH4⁺, Mg2+, and NO3− ions. Analysis of nitrite in both raw and processed edible bird’s nest (EBN) samples demonstrated recovery of close to 100%. The covalent immobilization of Hb on poly(nBA)-rGO composite film has improved the performance of the electrochemical nitrite biosensor in terms of broader detection range, lower detection limit, and prolonged biosensor stability.

Rapid authentication of edible bird's nest by FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics.

BACKGROUND: Edible bird's nests (EBNs) have been traditionally regarded as a kind of medicinal and healthy food in China. For economic reasons, they are frequently subjected to adulteration with some cheaper substitutes, such as Tremella fungus, agar, fried pigskin, and egg white. As a kind of precious and functional product, it is necessary to establish a robust method for the rapid authentication of EBNs with small amounts of samples by simple processes. In this study, the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) system was utilized and its feasibility for identification of EBNs was verified. RESULTS: FTIR spectra data of authentic and adulterated EBNs were analyzed by chemometrics analyses including principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), support vector machine (SVM) and one-class partial least squares (OCPLS). The results showed that the established LDA and SVM models performed well and had satisfactory classification ability, with the former 94.12% and the latter 100%. The OCPLS model was developed with prediction sensitivity of 0.937 and specificity of 0.886. Further detection of commercial EBN samples confirmed these results. CONCLUSION: FTIR is applicable in the scene of rapid authentication of EBNs, especially for quality supervision departments, entry-exit inspection and quarantine, and customs administration. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Edible bird's nest modulate intracellular molecular pathways of influenza A virus infected cells.

BACKGROUND: Edible Bird's Nest (EBN) as a popular traditional Chinese medicine is believed to have health enhancing and antiviral activities against influenza A virus (IAV); however, the molecular mechanism behind therapeutic effects of EBN is not well characterized. METHODS: In this study, EBNs that underwent different enzymatic preparation were tested against IAV infected cells. 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) and 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the EBNs against IAV strain A/Puerto Rico/8/1934(H1N1) were determined by HA and MTT assays. Subsequently, the sialic acid content of the used EBNs were analyzed by fluorometric HPLC. Western Blotting and immunofluorescent staining were used to investigate the effects of EBNs on early endosomal trafficking and autophagy process of influenza virus. RESULTS: This study showed that post inoculations of EBNs after enzymatic preparations have the highest efficacy to inhibit IAV. While CC50 of the tested EBNs ranged from 27.5-32 mg/ml, the IC50 of these compounds ranged between 2.5-4.9 mg/ml. EBNs could inhibit IAV as efficient as commercial antiviral agents, such as amantadine and oseltamivir with different mechanisms of action against IAV. The antiviral activity of these EBNs correlated with the content of N-acetyl neuraminic acid. EBNs could affect early endosomal trafficking of the virus by reducing Rab5 and RhoA GTPase proteins and also reoriented actin cytoskeleton of IAV infected cells. In addition, for the first time this study showed that EBNs can inhibit intracellular autophagy process of IAV life cycle as evidenced by reduction of LC3-II and increasing of lysosomal degradation. CONCLUSIONS: The results procured in this study support the potential of EBNs as supplementary medication or alternative to antiviral agents to inhibit influenza infections. Evidently, EBNs can be a promising antiviral agent; however, these natural compounds should be screened for their metabolites prior to usage as therapeutic approach.

Characterization of swiftlet edible bird nest, a mucin glycoprotein, and its adulterants by Raman microspectroscopy.

Edible bird's nest (EBN) is made from the glutinous salivary secretion of highly concentrated mucin glycoprotein by swiftlets (genus Aerodramus or Collocalia) native to the Indo-Pacific region. The unique Raman spectrum of EBN has vibrational lines that can be assigned to peptides and saccharides in the glycoprotein, and it can be used to screen for adulteration. The common edible adulterants classified into two types. Type I adulterants, such as fish bladder, pork skin, karaya gum, coralline seaweed, agar strips, and tremella fungus, were solids which adhered externally on the surface of the EBN cement. They can usually be detected with a microscope based on differences in the surface structure. Type II adulterants were water soluble substances such as saccharides (e.g., glucose, sucrose), polypeptides (e.g., hydrolyzed collagen) and salts (e.g. monosodium glutamate) which can be readily soaked up by the EBN hydrogel when moist and adsorbed internally in the EBN cement matrix forming a composite upon drying, making them difficult to detect visually. The present study showed that Raman microspectroscopy offers a rapid, non-invasive, and label free technique to detect both Type I and II adulterants in EBN.

Lactoferrin and ovotransferrin contribute toward antioxidative effects of Edible Bird's Nest against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in human SH-SY5Y cells.

There are reports of improved redox outcomes due to consumption of Edible Bird's Nest (EBN). Many of the functional effects of EBN can be linked to its high amounts of antioxidants. Interestingly, dietary components with high antioxidants have shown promise in the prevention of aging and its related diseases like Alzheimer's disease. In this study, the antioxidative potentials of EBN and its constituents, lactoferrin (LF) and ovotransferrin (OVF), were determined and protective effects against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)- induced toxicity on SH-SY5Y cells using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and acridine orange and propidium iodide (AO/PI) staining with microscopy were examined. Results showed that EBN and its constituents attenuated H2O2-induced cytotoxicity, and decreased radical oxygen species (ROS) through increased scavenging activity. Furthermore, LF, OVF, and EBN produced transcriptional changes in antioxidant related genes that tended towards neuroprotection as compared to H2O2-treated group. Overall, the results suggest that LF and OVF may produce synergistic or all-or-none antioxidative effects in EBN.

Uncovering the Antibacterial Potential of a Peptide-Rich Extract of Edible Bird's Nest against Staphylococcus aureus.

The diverse pharmacological properties of edible bird's nest (EBN) have been elucidated in recent years; however, investigations into its antibacterial effects are still limited. In the present study, we explored the antibacterial activity of a peptide-rich extract of EBN against Staphylococcus aureus, a notorious pathogen. The EBN extract (EEE) was prepared by soaking EBN in 80% ethanol for 2 days at 60°C. Biochemical analyses showed that peptides at the molecular weight range of 1.7-10 kDa were the major biochemical compounds in the EEE. The extract exhibited strong inhibition against S. aureus at a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 125 µg/ml and a minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 250 µg/ml. This activity could be attributed to the impact of the extract on cell membrane integrity and potential, biofilm formation, and reactive oxidative species (ROS) production. Notably, the expression of biofilm- and ROS-associated genes, including intercellular adhesion A (icaA), icaB, icaC, icaD, and superoxide dismutase A (sodA), were deregulated in S. aureus upon the extract treatment. Our findings indicate a noteworthy pharmacological activity of EBN that could have potential application in the control of S. aureus.

Purification, identification and molecular docking studies of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory peptides from Edible Bird's Nest.

This study investigated antioxidant and anti-inflammatory peptides from Edible Bird's Nest (EBN). The prepared EBN peptides were sequentially separated, purified, and successively identified by ultrafiltration, gel filtration and mass spectrometry techniques. Four potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory peptides were identified as Peptide 1 (LFWSPSVYLK), Peptide 2 (GWPHLEDNYLDW), Peptide 3 (NPPADLHK) and Peptide 4 (GDLAYLDQGHR). Molecular docking analysis revealed that Peptide 1 and Peptide 2 can competitively interrupt the formation of Keap1-Nrf2 due to the presence of hydrophobic and antioxidant amino acids in their peptide sequences. Peptide 3 and Peptide 4 have a strong effect on interacting with the binding site of IKK-ß due to the interaction of anti-inflammatory amino acids and C-terminal arginine/lysine. The four peptides were synthesised and validated for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The results suggest that the four peptides may serve as promising bioactive peptides for preventing oxidative stress and inflammation-related diseases.

Edible bird's nest improves the premature ovarian failure induced by tripterygium glycosides.

Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a common disease in the field of gynecological endocrinology that seriously affects the physical and mental health of patients. Previous studies found that edible bird's nest (EBN) could improve uterine function. These suggested that EBN might also have an ameliorating effect on POF. Therefore, in this study, tripterygium glycosides (TGs) were used to induce POF in rats, and the effect of EBN on the improvement of POF was investigated. After the administration of EBN for 14 days, ovarian index and uterine index, serum hormone levels, apoptosis rate of ovarian granulosa cells, follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) protein expression level, and the histopathological examination of the ovaries were determined. It was found that administration of medium and high EBN dose groups increased the ovarian index and granular layer thickness of rats with POF. Particularly, higher follicle-stimulating hormone levels and lower corpus luteum content were observed in the high EBN dose group. In addition, there were lower luteinizing hormone levels and fewer atretic follicles but higher progesterone levels in the medium EBN dose group. These results indicated that EBN had preventive and curative effects on POF induced by TGs. Its mechanism of action might be related to the reduction of ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis, regulation of hormones and receptors, and inhibition of follicle closure.

Beyond tradition: a novel approach for edible bird nest cleaning and its processing.

An edible bird nest is a product of the solidified saliva secretion from a few different swiftlet's species, during the breeding season. But the high impurities in A. maximus and C. esculent nests make them less ideal to be consumed. Eggshells and guano are the major contaminants contributing to the nitrite and nitrates contents. However, recent studies have shown significant medicinal and cosmetic applications of edible bird nest like anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, enhancing bone strength, and anti-aging. Thus, the high demand for edible bird nest in the global market to explore its potential application has improved from swiftlet farming activities to the cleaning process. Recent studies have shown the use of immobilized enzymes like keratinase for the removal of contaminants. The current review discusses the importance of Swiftlet bird nest, its application, and commercialization.

Identification of the Wound Healing Activity Peptidome of Edible Bird's Nest Protein Hydrolysate and the In Silico Evaluation of Its Transport and Absorption Potential in Skin.

In this study, edible bird's nest (EBN) was proven to be a suitable source of bioactive peptides via enzymatic hydrolysis. The ultrafiltration component of the EBN peptides (EBNPs, Mw < 3 000 Da) could be responsible for moderate moisture retention and filaggrin synthesis. It was found that EBNP had a great capacity to protect HaCaT keratinocytes from DNA damage caused by UVB-irradiation and enhance wound healing by increasing the migratory and proliferative potential of cells. Furthermore, the external application of EBNP could effectively repair high glycolic acid concentration-induced skin burns in mice. A total of 1 188 peptides, predominantly the hydrophobic amino acids (e.g., Leu, Val, Tyr, Phe), were identified in the EBNP by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Molecular docking showed that hydrophobic tripeptides from EBNP had a good binding affinity to proton-dependent oligopeptide transporter PepT1. Our data indicated that the hydrophobic amino acid-rich EBNP plays an important role in skin wound healing.

Employing fruit juices to hydrolyze edible bird's nest and enhance the antioxidant, anti-tyrosinase, and wound-healing activities of the hydrolysates.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of edible bird's nest (EBN) has attracted great interest in both scientific and commercial fields due to the enhancement of solubility and nutraceutical values. The present study attempted to investigate the hydrolysis of EBN with papaya (Carica papaya L.), pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.), and cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L.) juices as well as two commercial enzymes papain and bromelain. Our analysis revealed that EBN hydrolysis with pineapple juice and bromelain produced a degree of hydrolysis (DH) value of approximately 27 % while it was about 25 % for the hydrolysis with cantaloupe juice and 22 % for the hydrolysis with papaya juice and papain after 4 h of treatment. When EBN was digested by fruit juices and enzymes, the protein solubility and free sialic acid content were increased and the highest values were achieved for EBN hydrolysis with pineapple juice and bromelain (estimately 11 mg/mL of soluble protein and 18 g/kg of free sialic acid). The ABTS•+-scavenging, •OH-scavenging, and anti-tyrosinase capacities were higher in the EBN hydrolysates by papaya juice (IC50 of 0.034, 0.108, and 0.419 mg/mL, respectively), pineapple juice (IC50 of 0.025, 0.045, and 0.190 mg/mL, respectively), and cantaloupe juice (IC50 of 0.031 mg/mL, 0.056, and 0.339 mg/mL, respectively) than in the hydrolysates by unhydrolyzed EBN (IC50 of 0.094, 0.366, and 1.611 mg/mL, respectively). An improvement in ABTS•+-scavenging, •OH-scavenging, and anti-tyrosinase abilities was also observed for the hydrolysates by papain (IC50 of 0.041, 0.129, and 0.417 mg/mL, respectively) and bromelain (IC50 of 0.025, 0.069, and 0.336 mg/mL, respectively) but in a lesser extent as compared to the hydrolysates by respective papaya and pineapple juices. Noticeably, the EBN hydrolysates by fruit juices remarkably enhanced the wound closure in human fibroblasts by about 1.4-1.8 times after 24 h of treatment whereas this property was insignificant in the hydrolysates by enzymes. As papaya, pineapple, and cantaloupe juices are easily obtainable and have pleasant flavors, our results provide a possible method to hydrolyze EBN and apply the resultant hydrolysates in functional food products.

The potential cutaneous benefits of edible bird's nest.

Edible bird's nest (EBN) is composed of the solidified saliva of swiftlet birds. EBN has been extremely popular in Asian culture for centuries. They are often consumed as a delicacy in the form of bird's nest soup and are believed to have numerous skin benefits. In light of EBN's growing popularity and significant cultural importance, we aim provide a comprehensive review of EBN's potential dermatologic benefits and role in photoaging, anti-inflammation, wound healing, skin barrier enhancement, and skin whitening. While in vitro, in vivo, and preliminary clinical trial results are promising, there is a need for future human clinical research to further validate these findings and establish EBN's efficacy and safety for dermatologic applications.