Edible bird's nest contains mainly amino acids, carbohydrates and
mineral salts. The major ingredients of edible bird's nest are
glycoproteins. Amongst the carbohydrates in edible bird's nest, sialic
acid (9%) is the major one. It was found that exogenous source of
sialic acid may contribute to neurological and intellectual advantages
in infants[12]. However, the nutritional and biological mechanisms of
sialic acid in human body are still under investigation. The other
major carbohydrates include 7.2% galactosamine, 5.3% glucosamine, 16.9%
galactose and 0.7% fucose.
Amino acids and mineral salts are also important components in edible bird's nest. Three non-essential amino acids (aspartic acid, glutamic acid, praline) and two essential amino acids (threonine and valine) can be found[11]. They could facilitate normal body functions such as cell repair and promote immunity. Edible bird's nest is rich in mineral salts. It contains high content of sodium and calcium. It is because the source of edible bird's nest is derived from saliva Collocalia inhabiting mainly in limestone caves. In addition, low levels of magnesium, zinc, manganese and iron are also detected in edible bird's nest[8].
In spite of the long history of using edible bird's nest for medicinal purposes, there is not much scientific research related to the therapeutic use of bird’s nest. The earliest recent scientific evidence was given by Ng et al. (1986) in Hong Kong. Edible bird's nest aqueous extract was found in his studies to potentiate mitogenic response of human peripheral blood monocytes to stimulation with proliferative agents, Concanavalin A and Phytohemagglutinin A. The results of this research suggested that edible bird's nest might possess immunoenhancing effect by aiding cell division of immune cells.
One year later, other scientific evidence was published by Kong et al. This study demonstrated an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like activity in aqueous extract of edible bird's nest that stimulated the DNA synthesis in 3T3 fibroblast in a dose dependent manner in vitro. EGF is a 6,000 Da polypeptide hormone produced by glands of the gastrointestinal tract, namely the salivary and Brunner's glands. It appears to play a crucial role in major normal cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation and development. It may offer a rationale for the medicinal use of edible bird's nest in ageing resistance.
Since the receptor for EGF is highly expressed in a number of solid tumors, including breast, head-and-neck, non-small-cell lung, renal, ovarian and colon cancer, people are worried about a possibility to induce tumor progression and to resist chemotherapy/radiation treatment in tumor cells; in consequence, suggest that cancer patients should avoid edible bird's nest. In fact, there is no evidence supporting this suggestion. Currently we have evaluated the effects of aqueous extract of edible bird's nest on the viability on two human cancer cell lines, human breast cancer MCF-7 (ATCC HTB-22) and human liver cancer HepG2 (ATCC HB-8065). There was no observable effect on cell viability when comparing with the control group (unpublished data).
In 1994, a research team in China, evaluated the pharmacological effects of edible bird's nest and pearl powder containing formulation. The formulation was demonstrated to have immuno enhancing effects by elevating DNA synthesis of T-lymphacytes and circulating immunoglobulin M content in mice. In addition, the formulation also showed ageing retardation by increasing the level of superoxide dimutase. However, the study did not explore whether the effects came from either edible bird's nest, pearl powder or both.
燕窝主要是氨基酸，碳水化合物和矿物盐。燕窝的主要成分是糖蛋白。其中的碳水化合物食用燕窝，唾液酸（9％）是主要的一个。结果发现，外源来源的唾液酸可能有助于在婴儿[12]神经和智力优势。然而，在人体的营养和生物机制的唾液酸仍在调查中。其他主要的碳水化合物7.2％，半乳糖胺，氨基葡萄糖5.3％，16.9％，半乳糖和0.7％的岩藻糖。
氨基酸和矿物盐，是燕窝中的重要组成部分。可以发现三个非必需氨基酸（天门冬氨酸，谷氨酸，脯氨酸）和两个必需氨基酸（苏氨酸和缬氨酸）[11]。他们可以促进正常的身体功能，如细胞的修复和促进免疫能力。燕窝中含有丰富的矿物盐。它含有高含量的钠和钙。这是因为燕窝的来源是来自唾液燕窝主要聚居在石灰岩溶洞。此外，镁，锌，锰和铁中也检测到低水平的食用燕窝[8]。
尽管用于医疗目的的使用燕窝的悠久历史，没有太多的科研相关的治疗用途的燕窝。最早的是由吴等人最近的科学证据。 （1986）在香港。食用鸟类的巢水提取物被发现在他的研究中，以使可能有丝分裂反应的人外周血单核与增殖剂的刺激，刀豆一个和植物血凝素A.这项研究的结果表明，食用燕窝可能具有增强免疫的效果，帮助细胞分裂免疫细胞。
一年后，出版了其他科学证据Kong等人。这项研究表明一种表皮生长因子（EGF）的食用燕窝的3T3成纤维细胞以剂量依赖的方式在体外刺激的DNA合成的含水提取物中的活性。 EGF是一个6000大的胃肠道，即唾液和布伦纳氏腺的腺体产生的多肽激素。它出现在各大正常的细胞过程，如细胞增殖，分化和发展，发挥了至关重要的作用。它可以提供一个理由的药用食用燕窝的耐老化性能。
由于表皮生长因子受体的高表达在一些实体肿瘤，包括乳腺癌，头颈部，非小细胞肺癌，肾癌，卵巢癌和结肠癌，人们都在担心，诱发肿瘤进展的可能性和抵抗化疗/放射治疗在肿瘤细胞中，结果表明，癌症患者应避免食用燕窝。事实上，没有任何证据支持这一建议。目前，我们已评估的两个人类肿瘤细胞株，人乳腺癌MCF-7（ATCC HTB-22）和人肝癌细胞HepG2细胞（ATCC HB-8065）的水提取物对食用燕窝的可行性。与对照组（未发表的数据）进行比较时，没有观察到对细胞活力的影响。
1994年，一个研究小组，评估在中国的燕窝和珍珠粉配方的药理作用。制定被证明具有免疫促进作用，通过提高DNA合成T-lymphacytes的和在小鼠体内的循环免疫球蛋白M含量。此外，配方中还表现出了老化的相位差，通过增加超氧化物歧化酶的水平。然而，这项研究并没有探讨是否影响来自无论是燕窝，珍珠粉或两者。
Amino acids and mineral salts are also important components in edible bird's nest. Three non-essential amino acids (aspartic acid, glutamic acid, praline) and two essential amino acids (threonine and valine) can be found[11]. They could facilitate normal body functions such as cell repair and promote immunity. Edible bird's nest is rich in mineral salts. It contains high content of sodium and calcium. It is because the source of edible bird's nest is derived from saliva Collocalia inhabiting mainly in limestone caves. In addition, low levels of magnesium, zinc, manganese and iron are also detected in edible bird's nest[8].
In spite of the long history of using edible bird's nest for medicinal purposes, there is not much scientific research related to the therapeutic use of bird’s nest. The earliest recent scientific evidence was given by Ng et al. (1986) in Hong Kong. Edible bird's nest aqueous extract was found in his studies to potentiate mitogenic response of human peripheral blood monocytes to stimulation with proliferative agents, Concanavalin A and Phytohemagglutinin A. The results of this research suggested that edible bird's nest might possess immunoenhancing effect by aiding cell division of immune cells.
One year later, other scientific evidence was published by Kong et al. This study demonstrated an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like activity in aqueous extract of edible bird's nest that stimulated the DNA synthesis in 3T3 fibroblast in a dose dependent manner in vitro. EGF is a 6,000 Da polypeptide hormone produced by glands of the gastrointestinal tract, namely the salivary and Brunner's glands. It appears to play a crucial role in major normal cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation and development. It may offer a rationale for the medicinal use of edible bird's nest in ageing resistance.
Since the receptor for EGF is highly expressed in a number of solid tumors, including breast, head-and-neck, non-small-cell lung, renal, ovarian and colon cancer, people are worried about a possibility to induce tumor progression and to resist chemotherapy/radiation treatment in tumor cells; in consequence, suggest that cancer patients should avoid edible bird's nest. In fact, there is no evidence supporting this suggestion. Currently we have evaluated the effects of aqueous extract of edible bird's nest on the viability on two human cancer cell lines, human breast cancer MCF-7 (ATCC HTB-22) and human liver cancer HepG2 (ATCC HB-8065). There was no observable effect on cell viability when comparing with the control group (unpublished data).
In 1994, a research team in China, evaluated the pharmacological effects of edible bird's nest and pearl powder containing formulation. The formulation was demonstrated to have immuno enhancing effects by elevating DNA synthesis of T-lymphacytes and circulating immunoglobulin M content in mice. In addition, the formulation also showed ageing retardation by increasing the level of superoxide dimutase. However, the study did not explore whether the effects came from either edible bird's nest, pearl powder or both.
燕窝主要是氨基酸，碳水化合物和矿物盐。燕窝的主要成分是糖蛋白。其中的碳水化合物食用燕窝，唾液酸（9％）是主要的一个。结果发现，外源来源的唾液酸可能有助于在婴儿[12]神经和智力优势。然而，在人体的营养和生物机制的唾液酸仍在调查中。其他主要的碳水化合物7.2％，半乳糖胺，氨基葡萄糖5.3％，16.9％，半乳糖和0.7％的岩藻糖。
氨基酸和矿物盐，是燕窝中的重要组成部分。可以发现三个非必需氨基酸（天门冬氨酸，谷氨酸，脯氨酸）和两个必需氨基酸（苏氨酸和缬氨酸）[11]。他们可以促进正常的身体功能，如细胞的修复和促进免疫能力。燕窝中含有丰富的矿物盐。它含有高含量的钠和钙。这是因为燕窝的来源是来自唾液燕窝主要聚居在石灰岩溶洞。此外，镁，锌，锰和铁中也检测到低水平的食用燕窝[8]。
尽管用于医疗目的的使用燕窝的悠久历史，没有太多的科研相关的治疗用途的燕窝。最早的是由吴等人最近的科学证据。 （1986）在香港。食用鸟类的巢水提取物被发现在他的研究中，以使可能有丝分裂反应的人外周血单核与增殖剂的刺激，刀豆一个和植物血凝素A.这项研究的结果表明，食用燕窝可能具有增强免疫的效果，帮助细胞分裂免疫细胞。
一年后，出版了其他科学证据Kong等人。这项研究表明一种表皮生长因子（EGF）的食用燕窝的3T3成纤维细胞以剂量依赖的方式在体外刺激的DNA合成的含水提取物中的活性。 EGF是一个6000大的胃肠道，即唾液和布伦纳氏腺的腺体产生的多肽激素。它出现在各大正常的细胞过程，如细胞增殖，分化和发展，发挥了至关重要的作用。它可以提供一个理由的药用食用燕窝的耐老化性能。
由于表皮生长因子受体的高表达在一些实体肿瘤，包括乳腺癌，头颈部，非小细胞肺癌，肾癌，卵巢癌和结肠癌，人们都在担心，诱发肿瘤进展的可能性和抵抗化疗/放射治疗在肿瘤细胞中，结果表明，癌症患者应避免食用燕窝。事实上，没有任何证据支持这一建议。目前，我们已评估的两个人类肿瘤细胞株，人乳腺癌MCF-7（ATCC HTB-22）和人肝癌细胞HepG2细胞（ATCC HB-8065）的水提取物对食用燕窝的可行性。与对照组（未发表的数据）进行比较时，没有观察到对细胞活力的影响。
1994年，一个研究小组，评估在中国的燕窝和珍珠粉配方的药理作用。制定被证明具有免疫促进作用，通过提高DNA合成T-lymphacytes的和在小鼠体内的循环免疫球蛋白M含量。此外，配方中还表现出了老化的相位差，通过增加超氧化物歧化酶的水平。然而，这项研究并没有探讨是否影响来自无论是燕窝，珍珠粉或两者。
