| Summary: | 碩士 === 中國文化大學 === 生物科技研究所 === 101 === Edible Bird’s Nest (EBN) was a significant item in the cuisine and pharmacy of the Emperors of China during the 16th century. EBN has been known for its beneficial effects in promoting health in the Chinese for hundreds of years. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), EBN is believed to promote the wellbeing of multiple organs and body systems. Previous study showed that extracts from EBN stimulated epidermal growth factor (EGF) and improved the immune function and cell proliferation. Recently, hot-water extraction of EBN showed the ability to promote cornea cells proliferation and cornea wound healing. To date, all the previous studies demonstrated beneficial effects of the EBN extracts prepared by water extraction.
Bird's nest used in this study had been proved to be a pure bird’s nest by SDS-PAGE, sialic acid content and protein content. Qualification analyses were conducted by SDS-PAGE, Warren assay and Kjeldahl method to authenticate the EBN sample. It was found to possess three bands at about 50 kDa, 100 kDa and 150 kDa, possess a sialic acid content about 10% of dry weight, and possess a protein content about 50% of dry weight. According to the criteria on previous studies, the EBN sample was considered to be a real and pure bird’s nest. Subsequently, the EBN sample was applied to enzyme digestion and then separated by Bio-gel P2 for size exclusion chromatography. In PBMC immunomodulation test, it was found the hydrolysate of bird's nest had effects on enhancing T-cell mediated immunity, but is not strong enough; while whose inflammatory effects were very strong and significant. The present study aimed to find the optimal hydrolysis condition for EBN by plant enzymes and to know whether the basic components of EBN hydrolysate could induce immune response or not.
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