The bird's nest is a nest made of the saliva secreted by several swifts of the swift family and the mixed bonding of their plumage. It is mainly produced in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar, as well as the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong in China. Bird's nest is rich in sugars, organic acids, free amino acids and the characteristic substance - bird's nest acid. It has the effects of Nourishing Yin, moistening dryness and tonifying middle and Qi. As a high-grade tonic for both medicine and food, it is deeply loved by consumers at home and abroad.
Bird's nest acid, also known as sialic acid, is named for its high content in bird's nest. It is a derivative of a group of neuraminic acids and widely exists in vertebrates, mammals and a variety of plant tissues.
Function:
The content of sialic acid in authentic bird's nest is about 10%. The main form of sialic acid is N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac). The structure of N-acetylneuraminic acid is shown in Figure 1. There are few chromophores in its structure. Under acidic conditions, it can interact with o-phenylenediamine or ninhydrin, and the resulting derivatives have strong UV absorption. Efficacy of bird's nest acid: it is the main bioactive component in bird's nest, which can promote the information transmission speed of brain nerve cells. The content of bird's nest acid in nerve cell membrane is 20 times that of other cells, and the content of bird's nest acid in human brain cells is 2-4 times that of other animals. Human beings can dominate the world by developing large brains. The bird's nest acid in breast milk provides immunity for the early growth of infants, and improves the intestinal absorption of vitamins and minerals. Because the bird's nest acid will not be degraded by digestive tract enzymes when passing through the digestive system, it can enter the intestine through the digestive tract to curb the intestinal pathogenic bacteria and the adsorption of viruses and cells, which plays an important role in resisting a variety of bacteria.