Swiftlets are unique creatures where their nests are made using their own saliva. Edible birdnest has been traded for hundreds of years between the Malay Archipelago and China since the 16th and 17th centuries. Birdnest harvesting in Malaysia traditionally began in the late 1800s in limestone caves in the Borneo Islands, such as Niah Cave in Sarawak and Gomantong Cave in Sabah. The edible birdnest-producing swiftlet species that are mainly traded worldwide are Aerodramus fuciphafus and Aerodramus maximus. Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand, are the major exporting countries of edible birdnest.
The reason why birdnests are expensive is because of the dangerous harvesting process and the painstaking cleaning process. This caused people to actively practise in house farming to avoid the dangerous harvesting process from the limestone caves. The harvested birdnests have to go through tough cleaning process to remove impurities such as sand, feathers, and eggshells.
Birdnest contains proteins and carbohydrate rich glycoproteins which have the potential to provide nutritional and therapeutic properties. The main carbohydrate that is widely studied is sialic acid and it can be used as functional ingredient in many industries, especially the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Sialic acid is found to have many biological functions that are important for human health benefits, such as neuronal development, antiviral activity against influenza viruses, prevention of hypertension, a strong immune regulator of cancer cells, and skin whitening effect.
Traditionally, EBN is prepared for consumption by double boiling. It is usually known as birdnest soup with the addition of sugar and served as dessert in Chinese community. However, birdnest does not dissolve easily by extracellular fluids because of its high charge density, high molecular weight protein and grouping of glycosylation sites. The conversion of the glycoproteins to glycopeptides may help overcome this problem and increases the efficiency of their uptake. One of the ways this can be done is by hydrolysis treatment which can produce peptides with reduced molecular weight. Small bioactive peptides (<10 kDa) produced by enzymatic hydrolysis can increase the quality of biological function of EBN -Birdnest Peptide Powder.
Besides enzymatic hydrolysis, there are also other methods such as acidic hydrolysis and ultrasound treatment that can affect the solubility and types of peptides and the amount of sialic acid content. The bioactive peptide present in the bird nest can exhibit antioxidant activity and antihypertension activity. Therefore, birdnest peptide can be applied in food products such as ready-to-drink products, prebiotic drinks, yogurt and ice cream.
Our product has employed acid hydrolysis and enzyme hydrolysis followed by ultrasonic-assisted extraction to yield the maximum amount of sialic acid and peptides. It is easier to soluble in water so can be incorporated in any beverage for the optimum health benefit without spending long time to cook it. It is neutral taste powder so is convenient to be formulated into any health or beauty related powdery supplement.
Direction of Use
Add 1/8 teaspoon to 6 tablespoon or 0.2% to 6% or as needed. Mix, top or blend in water, soup, drinks, smoothies, beverages, ice-cream, cake, kuih-muih, jam, jelly, pudding, snacks, biscuits, desserts, dressings & recipes.
(Depends on personal preferences)
Storage Method: Powder in Canister
Store in a refrigerator / cool place after opening.
Precaution
- Keep away from children.
- Colour, taste, texture may vary from batch to batch and sediment might occur as the ingredients used are natural.
- Due to the nature of plant / herbal extract, powder may clump due to heat or moisture.
- Stop using this product if allergy occurs.
