Search JIM Advanced Search

Journal of Integrative Medicine ›› 2016, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (6): 415-428.doi: 10.1016/S2095-4964(16)60282-0

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A comprehensive review of edible bird nests and swiftlet farming

Lee Suan Chuaa,b , Siti Najihah Zukefl ia,b   

  1. a Metabolites Profi ling Laboratory, Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,UTM Skudai, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia 
    b Department of Bioprocess and Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering,Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Skudai, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • Received:2016-07-26 Accepted:2016-08-15 Online:2016-11-15 Published:2016-11-15
  • Contact: Lee Suan Chua, PhD; E-mail: chualeesuan@utm.my

Edible bird's nest (EBN) is currently widely consumed by the Chinese community as tonic food and functional food, which is believed to have many medicinal benefits. Some studies have reported the biochemical compositions of EBN, graded on the basis of colour, nitrate and nitrite contents. Other studies have shown significant biological effects, while ongoing research is in progress to explore potential pharmacological applications. The high demand for EBNs in the global market has forced the local regulatory bodies to monitor swiftlet farming activities, including the EBN cleaning process. Furthermore, numerous techniques have been developed to authenticate EBN; proteomics is likely to be the most promising of these methods. However, there are limited numbers of relevant protein sequences deposited at the database. More research is needed at the molecular level to explore the mechanisms behind the biological functions, such as bone strength improvement, skin rejuvenation, epidermal growth factor activity and cell proliferation. The current and future prospects of EBN and swiftlet farming are critically reviewed in this article.

Key words: Edible bird’s nest, Swiftlet farming, Proteomics, Authentication, Aerodramus

1 Lim C.Make millions from swiftlet farming: a definitive guide. Selangor: True Wealth. 2006.
2 Ibrahim SH, Teo WC, Baharun A.A study on suitable habitat for swiftlet farming.UNIMAS E-J Civil Eng. 2009;1(1): 1-7.
3 Sankaran R.The status and conservation of the edible-nest swiftlet(Collocalia fuciphaga) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Biol Conserv.2001; 97(3): 283-294.
4 Phach NQ, Voisin JF.On an ecological form of the whitenest swiftletAerodramus fuciphagus(Aves, Apodidae) breeding in houses in Vietnam. Revue D Ecologie-La Terre Et La Vie. 2007; 62(1): 49-57.
5 Aowphol A, Voris HK, Feldheim KA, Harnyuttanakorn P, Thirakhupt K.Genetic homogeneity among colonies of white-nest swiftlet(Aerodramus fuciphagus) in Thailand. Zoolog Sci.2008; 25: 372-380.
6 Stimpson CM.A 48 000 year record of swiftlets (Aves: Apodidae) in North-western Borneo: morphometric identifications and palaeoenvironmental implications. Palaeogeogr, Palaeoclimatol, Palaeoecol.2013; 374: 132-143.
7 Koon LC.Bird’s-nest soup.Wildlife Conserv. 2000; 103(1): 30-35.
8 Looi QH, Omar AR.Swiftlets and edible bird’s nest industry in Asia. Pertanika J Scholarly Res Rev.2016; 2(1): 32-48.
9 Lim CK, Cranbrook E .Swiftlets of Borneo: builders of edible nests. Borneo: Natural History Publications. 2002.
10 Langham N.Breeding biology of the edible-nest swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus. Int J Avian Sci.1980; 122(4): 447-461.
11 Medway L.The function of echonavigation among swiftlets. Anim Behav.1967; 15(4): 416-420.
12 Lee PLM, Clayton DH, Griffiths R, Page RDM.Does behavior reflect phylogeny in swiftlets (Aves: Apodidae)? A test using cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA sequences. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.1996; 93(14): 7091-7096.
13 Medway L.The relation between the reproductive cycle, moult and changes in the sublingual salivary glands of the swiftletCollocalia maxima hume. Proc Zool Soc London. 1962; 138(2): 305-315.
14 Marcone MF.Characterization of the edible bird’s nests the “Caviar of the East”. Food Res Int.2005; 38(10): 1125-1134.
15 Kang N, Hails CJ, Sigurdsson JB.Nest construction and egg-laying in edible nest swiftlets Aerodramus spp. and the implications for harvesting.Int J Avian Sci. 1991; 133(2): 170-177.
16 Ramji MFS, Koon LC, Rahman MA.Roosting and nestbuilding behaviour of the white-nest swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus(Thunberg); 29: 225-235.
17 Quek MC, Chin NL, Yusof YA, Tan SW, Law CL.Preliminary nitrite, nitrate and colour analysis of Malaysian edible bird’s nest. Inform Process Agric.2015; 2(1): 1-5.
18 But PPH, Jiang RW, Shaw PC.Edible bird’s nests—How do the red ones get red?J Ethnopharm. 2013; 145(1): 378-380.
19 Wang CC.The composition of Chinese edible bird’s nests and the nature of their proteins.J Biol Chem. 1921; 49(2): 429-439.
20 Ma F, Liu D.Sketch of edible bird’s nest and its important bioactivities.Food Res Int. 2012; 48(2): 559-567.
21 Norhayati MK Jr, Azman O, Wan NazaimoonW. Preliminary study of the nutritional content of Malaysian edible bird’s nest.Malaysian J Nutr. 2010; 16(3): 389-396.
22 Xin WH, Kasim ZM, Babji AS, Ismail NH, Muhammad NN.Proximate analysis and amino acid composition in selected edible bird’s nest. The 16th Food Innovation Asia Conference, Bangkok, Thailand. 2014.
23 Kathan RH, Weeks DI.Structure studies of Collocalia mucoid. I.Carbohydrate and amino acid composition. Arch Biochem Biophy. 1969; 134(2): 572-576.
24 Shylaja M, Sesehadri HS.Glycoproteins: an overview. Biochem Edu. 1989; 17(4): 170-178. 25 Babji AS, Nurfatin MH, Etty Syarmila IK, Masitah M. Secrets of edible bird nest. UTAR Agric Sci J. 2015; 1(1):
[1] Lin-na Yu, Jian Pei. Application of differential proteomics in mechanism research of acupuncture. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2011, 9(8): 819-823.
[2] Mei-qun Cao, Zheng-zhi Wu, Wei-kang Wu. Identification of salivary biomarkers in breast cancer patients with thick white or thick yellow tongue fur using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitative proteomics. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2011, 9(3): 275-280.
[3] Shuo Zhang , Hong-cai Shang. Correlation between traditional Chinese medicine syndromes and omics: A literature review. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2011, 9(12): 1286-1291.
[4] Ding-zhu Shen , Qing Ta, Jin-xing Du, Sai-dan Ding, Gao-feng Chen, Yi-yang Ru, Ping Liu. Effects of Yiguanjian Decoction on liver cirrhosis formation: A differential proteomics study in rats. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2010, 8(2): 158-167.
[5] Guang-wei Zhong, Wei Li, Yan-hong Luo, Guo-lin Chen, Zhen-jia Yi, Jian-jun Hu, Ying Zhang, Yao-hui Yin, Le Zhang.
  • Herbs for calming liver and suppressing liver-yang in treatment of migraine with hyperactive liver-yang sydrome and its effects on lymphocyte protein expression: a randomized controlled trial
. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2009, 7(1): 25-33.
[6] Ying Zhang, Ze-qi Chen, Guang-wei Zhong. Adrenal protein expressions after Pinggan Qianyang Formula treatment in hypertensive rats with liver-yang hyperactivity: a comparative proteomic analysis. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2008, 6(7): 729-737.
[7] Ping Li, Li-ping Yang. Application of systems biology method in the research of traditional Chinese medicine. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2008, 6(5): 454-457.
[8] Yi-qin Wang, Fu-feng Li, Wen-jing Wang, Li-yu Zhao, Li Guo, Hui-fang Wang. Serum proteomics study of chronic gastritis with dampness syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2007, 5(5): 514-516.
[9] cWei Zhang​, Yuan-shan Zeng​, Yang Wang​, Wei Liu​, Jin-jun Cheng​, Sui-jun Chen​. Primary study on proteomics about ganoderma lucidium spores promoting survival and axon regeneration of injured spinal motor neurons in rats. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2006, 4(3): 298-302.
[10] Jin-kun Wen, Mei Han. Application of genomics and proteomics in study of traditional Chinese medicine. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2004, 2(5): 323-325.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited

  Shared   
  Discussed   
[1] Wei-xiong Liang. Problems-solving strategies in clinical treatment guideline for traditional Chinese medicine and integrative medicine. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2008, 6(1): 1-4
[2] Zhao-guo Li. Discussion on English translation of commonly used sentences in traditional Chinese medicine: part one. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2008, 6(1): 107-110
[3] Jun Hu, Jian-ping Liu. Non-invasive physical treatments for chronic/recurrent headache. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2008, 6(1): 31
[4] Xue-mei Liu, Qi-fu Huang, Yun-ling Zhang, Jin-li Lou, Hong-sheng Liu, Hong Zheng. Effects of Tribulus terrestris L. saponion on apoptosis of cortical neurons induced by hypoxia-reoxygenation in rats. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2008, 6(1): 45-50
[5] . Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals: Writing and editing for biomedical publication (Chinese version, part two). Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2010, 8(11): 1001-1005
[6] Daniel Weber, Janelle M Wheat, Geoffrey M Currie. Inflammation and cancer: Tumor initiation, progression and metastasis,and Chinese botanical medicines. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2010, 8(11): 1006-1013
[7] Hong Liu , Guo-liang Zhang, Li Shen , Zhen Zeng, Bao-luo Zhou, Cheng-hai Liu, Guang Nie . Application and evaluation of a pseudotyped virus assay for screening herbs for anti-H5Nl avian influenza virus. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2010, 8(11): 1036-1040
[8] Zhao-guo Li . A discussion of English translation of 1995 and 1997 Chinese National Standards of Traditional Chinese Medical Terminologies for Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2010, 8(11): 1090-1096
[9] Rui Jin, Bing Zhang. A complexity analysis of Chinese herbal property theory: the multiple formations of herbal property (Part 1). Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2012, 10(11): 1198-1205
[10] Hui-min Liu, Xian-bo Wang, Yu-juan Chang, Li-li Gu. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of integrative medicine therapy for treatment of chronic severe hepatitis. Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine, 2012, 10(11): 1211-1228