Search

Abstract 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.

Abstract Edible bird's nest (EBN) is a traditional food which was nourishing and functional. Particularly, there is the epidermal growth factor (EGF) in EBN, which is thought to play an important role in promoting skin repair. However, the type and content of EGF in EBN were not determined yet. In this study, the type of EGF in EBN was identified as bird EGF by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and this method was validated to be accurate and precise. Moreover, it was found that the content of EGF in raw-unclean EBN, raw-clean EBN and stewed EBN was 3000 pg/g–4000 pg/g and there were no significant differences, which suggested that the batches, origins, forms, stewing temperatures and stewing times of EBN had no effect on the content of EGF in EBN. However, it was due to that enzyme destroyed the primary structure of EGF, the EGF content of neutral protease and trypsin hydrolysates of EBN was lower than that of flavor enzymes, alkaline protease and pepsin hydrolysates of EGF. This study was the first to determine the type and content of EGF in EBN, and provided a theoretical basis for the selection and processing of EBN and using EBN as a source of EGF.

Ion chromatography (IC) is based on the differential promotion of the substance to be tested on the ion chromatography column, so as to separate different substances, and then determine the content of the substance to be tested through the detection instrument. Because of its convenience, high sensitivity and good selectivity, it is widely used in the fields of food detection, industrial production and environmental monitoring. In recent years, with the continuous development of science and technology, the update of ion chromatography and the development with new and efficient coupling technologies have become the focus of research. In recent years, with the upgrading and improvement of ion chromatography, its detection technology for conventional inorganic ions is advancing with each passing day. At the same time, the combined technology of ion chromatography has greatly broadened the application scope of ion chromatography in the field of food. This paper reviews the research results and new trend of ion chromatography in the field of food in recent five years and also provides direction and reference for follow-up researchers.

Aiming for antiaging functions, an edible bird's nest peptide (EBNP) was systematically evaluated. First, it was shown that the EBNP had 6.64% sialic acid, 68.89 g/100 g amino acid content. Subsequently, it was found that EBNP had antioxidant capacity, the DPPH•, ABTS+, and •OH scavenging IC50 values of EBNP were 1.08 mg/mL, 0.46 mg/mL, and 370.43 mg/mL, respectively, and the antioxidant EC50 value of EBNP in HaCaT cells was 14.14 mg/mL. The EBNP had melanin synthesis inhibitory capacity, the melanin synthesis inhibition EC50 value of EBNP in B16 cells was 1.48 mg/mL, and the melanin synthesis inhibition EC50 value of EBNP in zebrafish was 0.11 mg/mL. In addition, the EBNP showed anti-photoaging capacity in zebrafish and cell scratch repair and proliferation capacity in MRC-5 cells. It could be concluded that the EBNP had potential to be applied in functional foods, pharmaceuticals, and skin care products as an antiaging ingredient.

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.

Edible bird’s nest (EBN) is an unusual mucin glycoprotein. In China, it is popular among consumers due to its skin whitening activity. However, the relationship between protein, sialic acid, and the whitening activity of EBN after digestion is still unclear. In the present work, the whitening activity (antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibitory activity) of digested EBN were studied by HepG2 and B16 cell models. The dissolution rate of protein and sialic acid was 49.59% and 46.45% after the simulated digestion, respectively. The contents of free sialic acid and glycan sialic acid in EBN digesta were 17.82% and 12.24%, respectively. HepG2 cell experiment showed that the digested EBN had significant antioxidant activity, with EC50 of 1.84 mg/mL, and had a protective effect on H2O2-induced oxidative damage cells. The results of H2O2-induced oxidative damage showed that the cell survival rate increased from 40% to 57.37% when the concentration of digested EBN was 1 mg/mL. The results of the B16 cell experiment showed that the digested EBN had a significant inhibitory effect on tyrosinase activity, and the EC50 value of tyrosinase activity was 7.22 mg/mL. Cell experiments showed that free sialic acid had stronger antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibitory activity than glycan sialic acid. The contribution rate analysis showed that protein component was the main antioxidant component in digestive products, and the contribution rate was 85.87%; free sialic acid was the main component that inhibited tyrosinase activity, accounting for 63.43%. The products of the complete digestion of EBN are suitable for the development of a new generation of whitening health products.