TITLE:
Edible Bird’s Nest, an Asian Health Food Supplement, Possesses Skin Lightening Activities: Identification of N-Acetylneuraminic Acid as Active Ingredient
AUTHORS:
Gallant Kar Lun Chan, Zack Chun Fai Wong, Kelly Yin Ching Lam, Lily Kwan Wai Cheng, Laura Minglu Zhang, Huangquan Lin, Tina Tingxia Dong, Karl Wah Keung Tsim
KEYWORDS:
Cubilose, N-Acetylneuraminic Acid, Chemical Analysis, Skin Lightening, Human Skin Model
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications,
Vol.5 No.4,
November
27,
2015
ABSTRACT: Edible bird’s nest (EBN; Yan Wo), or cubilose, is originated from the
salivary secretion of Aerodramus
fuciphagus. In Asia, EBN is famous for its unproven skin lightening
function. Here, we aim to reveal the active ingredients of EBN responsible for
skin lightening function. Three major fractions were isolated from EBN water
extract by chromatography using LC-MS/MS, bioactivities of these isolated
fractions were analyzed by assays of tyrosinase, melanocytes and 3D human skin
model, from which, N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA), the second isolated fraction
showed an inhibition effect on tyrosinase activity in a dose-dependent manner.
The IC50 of tyrosinase originated from mushroom and human was 16.93
mM and 0.10 mM respectively. Furthermore, only EBN with higher content of NANA
(e.g. White and Red EBN), but not EBN with less NANA (e.g. Grass EBN), showed
promising skin lightening function. This is the first report to reveal NANA
being an active ingredient of EBN on skin lightening function.