Abstract
Edible bird’s nest (EBN) produced by Aerodramus fuciphagus has a high demand for nutritional and medicinal application throughout the world. The present study was to evaluate the authentication of a man-made house EBN, which are half cup and stripe-shaped by FTIR. Next, both samples were compared according to their metabolite, nutritional, and mineral composition. The results indicated that the FTIR spectra of both EBN samples were identical and similar to the reference, suggesting the authenticity of the EBN used. The metabolites that contribute to the possible medicinal properties of EBN were found by using GC-MS. The results of the proximate analysis, followed by the standard AOAC method, inferred that both EBN shapes to be rich in crude protein and carbohydrate contents. However, the proximate composition between the half cup and stripe-shaped EBN showed significant differences. Major mineral elements detected were calcium and sodium, and magnesium contents were significantly different between both EBN. Additionally, the half cup and stripe-shaped EBN had a low level of heavy metal content than the maximum regulatory limit as set by the Malaysian Food Act 1983. This study concludes that the nutritional composition varied between the samples and thus suggests that nutrient content should be considered as criteria for the grading requirement of commercialized EBN.
Highlights
IntroductionEdible bird’s nest (EBN) is traditionally used as one of the best nourishing and comprehensive health food products
The present study showed that the rapid determination of Edible bird’s nest (EBN) purity by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)-ATR spectroscopy was identical between the different shapes of EBN, suggesting that similar functional groups of genuine EBN were present in both samples
The characteristic of pure EBN in both shapes was confirmed with the presence of amide peaks attributed to protein, hydroxyl, and aldehyde peaks denoted to carbohydrates
Summary
Edible bird’s nest (EBN) is traditionally used as one of the best nourishing and comprehensive health food products. It is produced by several different swiftlet species of Aerodramus fuciphagus and Aerodramus maximus [1]. The nests are constructed from the saliva of male swiftlets, which is secreted from a pair by the sublingual salivary gland during the nesting and breeding seasons. Consumption of EBN can be traced back for hundreds of years and up until now, this tonic food is popular among the Chinese community worldwide. In traditional Chinese medicine, EBN is used as a tonic food to enhance complexion and metabolism, alleviate asthma, treatment of malnutrition, and strengthen the immune system [2,3]
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