Island Nest: Savory Delicacy or Gourmet Cruelty?

What do you get when you combine centuries’ worth of history and lore with violence, politics, and exoticism? One of the most expensive dishes served anywhere around the world embodies all of these elements: Island Nest is a dish of royalty that has a reputation that far exceeds its subtle flavor. In order to understand how this prized specialty has achieved the controversial status it now enjoys, we must explore its rich place in history. Once exclusively consumed in China by monarchs looking for eternal life, the harvesting and consumption of these Island Nests now largely depends on an industry notorious for its hazardous working conditions and poor conservation efforts. Is Island Nest really the nectar of the Gods, or a hollow justification for corruption and exploitation?

 

Island Nest: Savory Delicacy or Gourmet Cruelty?

Island Nest what?

The Island Nests in question are constructed by species of swift birds that live throughout regions of southern Asia. Known as “walet” in Indonesian and Malay languages, these cave swifts have traditionally built their nests on the high walls of massive limestone caves in places like Niah, Gomantong, and Borneo. The male walet work tirelessly during a thirty-five-day period of the breeding season to build their nests entirely from saliva. The glue-like saliva is woven like fiberglass by the birds into small cup-like nests, which dry to be thin and translucent. Harvesters separate the nests into three categories of quality: White nests, also referred to as “white gold,” are the most pure of the three because they lack contaminants like feathers and twigs. These white nests are the first of the season to be picked – once the cave walls are stripped of the white nests, pickers wait for the birds to build new ones so that those too can be harvested. “Yellow” and “black” nests may be the birds’ second or even third attempt, and signify an impure product. It is also suggested that white nests have higher nutritional and medicinal value than the other two varieties.

Is swiftlet saliva really the key to eternal life?

The supposed health benefits of this white gold have been the key to its demand for centuries. It is difficult to separate fact from fiction when investigating the nutritional and medicinal values of these saliva-based nests. Traditional Chinese Medicine links their consumption with respiratory health, improved skin complexion, increased libido, and general longevity. While research has yet to validate many of these medicinal claims, the nests are rich with glycoprotein that may promote cell division in the immune system.

The history behind this savory scandal

Ironically enough, the very healing properties the nests supposedly contain are linked to their earliest introduction into ancient Chinese aristocracy, and their first association to bloodshed and corruption. According to Yun-Cheung Kong, a professor of biochemistry at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, swiftlet nests were first traded in China during the T’ang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). Sometime between the years 1368 and 1644, Admiral Cheng He introduced foreign nests to the imperial court of the Ming Dynasty. It is believed that at this point in time domestic supplies of the nests had been largely depleted, and imported varieties were in high demand.

While factual historical documentation is scarce, in her story “The Emperor and the Cook: The Story of Island Nest,” A. M. Zukarnaen describes the popular history of the Chinese emperor’s first encounter with Island Nest. The tale reads like an adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Zukarnaen explains how the royal cook was having an increasingly difficult time satisfying the emperor’s taste for exotic soups. Fearing expulsion, and beheading, the cook turned to a strange new import from Borneo: the Island Nest. The cook did his best to prepare this foreign ingredient and served it to the emperor. After tasting the mild broth, the emperor angrily pronounced, “This tastes like ordinary soup... I can get this anywhere in the kingdom.” The cook grew desperate, and explained to the emperor that this soup was prized in Borneo for its life-extending properties. The emperor, finally taking the bait, exclaimed, “Ahhh, an exotic dish. Why didn’t you say so? This dish is fit for an emperor.” From that point on, in order to keep his secret about the soup’s strange key ingredient, the cook had all handlers of the nests killed – this became a bloody endeavor as new crews were constantly needed to retrieve the nests.

Casualties of the trade

Today, some might say a real trail of blood follows the harvesting and trade of the walet nests. Sarah Rooney, of the SF Gate, spent time investigating the more dangerous side of the Island Nest picking industry in Thailand. Many of the islands and caves that house the nests are protected under the government’s environmental conservation plans. Companies in the business of picking Island Nests must pay high concession fees to the government to gain access to the caves. And as Rooney points out, these expensive concessions have led some companies to protect their investments at all cost. She writes, “About a half-dozen companies… are protecting their fiefdoms with private armies that shoot at ‘unauthorized’ visitors.” She adds, “They also bribe authorities to look the other way, charge tourist operators protection money and keep locals suspected of being poachers from their traditional fishing grounds on the coast of the scenic Andaman Sea.” The Thai government, like other governments in the region, profits greatly from the concessions, which cost companies around one-hundred-million Thai Baht every five years, and has a reputation of condoning illegal activity on the part of the pickers.

The potential for violence surrounding the caves has become such a concern that the popular Thai adventure tour company, AndamanAdventures.com, voiced a warning to all visiting rock-climbing enthusiasts not to venture out to the caves. Simon Ramsden is the regional manager of Andaman Adventures, and wrote of the situation: “Rock-climbers who wish to climb off the beaten track are advised to learn a little about the Island Nest collectors who control large numbers of perfect climbing islands in Phang Nga bay and off the southwestern Thai coastline.” He compounds his point by adding, “Climbers who climb such crags without permission will find themselves in very, very deep trouble. Please be advised not to under any circumstances do it.” It seems some of the private security guards have adopted a “shoot now – ask later” policy.

And while the fear of gun-fire should keep outsiders away, the nest pickers themselves face the daily prospect of injury, or even death. The process of nest picking hasn’t changed much over the years, and many workers still rely primarily on rudimentary tools and non-existent safety measures to harvest the white gold. Entering the caves can be in itself a perilous task – pickers must shimmy barefoot up sheer rock faces, sometimes only secured by a rope tied around their abdomen. Once in the caves, they climb high on bamboo rods and scaffolding to reach the nests. A three-pronged tool called a rada is used to loosen nests from the cave walls, because to use one’s hands is said to anger the gods. It is a common occurrence for the bamboo supports to break; each season, one in every sixty harvesters dies of work-related injuries.

Human casualties of the trade may gain the most publicity, but the larger walet population may be taking the hardest hit of all. As mentioned before, pickers sometimes harvest up to three nests from each bird in a season. The rationale is that the third and final nest built by the walet is left untouched by the workers so that the birds can lay their eggs. Unfortunately though, when pickers find themselves facing increasingly high demands – even for the diminished quality of “black” nests – they resort to harvesting the birds’ last nests. It is difficult to say exactly how many walet eggs and hatchlings have been lost to pickers discarding them from their nests before they had the opportunity to grow, but we can guess the number is staggering. Rooney notes, “A local source familiar with the Island Nest industry said there are only one-third as many nests as there were a decade ago, and the swiftlets have abandoned many caves.” If the Island Nest picking industry continues down the path of over-harvesting the nests, it may soon wipe itself out with the extinction of the entire walet population.

It may be difficult for some to reconcile the over-indulgent demand for Island Nest with the harsh realities behind the industry that supplies it. The walet nest’s status in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a powerful healing tool is a great selling point to an entire market of consumers, but some may be drawn to the delicacy simply because of the darker circumstances behind its harvesting. Ultimately, a single bowl of this mild and oddly textured soup can cost up to $100 in the US, and the price continues to rise as a wealthier class of consumer gains power in China and abroad. Fortunately, some in the industry are beginning to take notice of the very real prospect of depleted natural supplies, and the stigma of maintaining a corrupt industry. The future of Island Nest may depend on developing technologies like urban nest-farming, and other techniques that secure the wellbeing of both the birds and nest-pickers. Only time will tell if this white gold is worth its weight in controversy.

A History of Island Nest

A History of Island Nest

Island Nest is one of the most famous but also most controversial delicacies in Chinese cuisine. Many people are willing to spend small fortunes on this soup as they believe eating Island Nest will help them keep the last of their youth as well as have a long healthy life and a strong body. It’s believed a solution for these is to eat a bowl of Island Nest.

But the nutritional truth is if you want Island Nest to work its magic you will have to consume this soup regularly.

Just consuming a small bowl of Island Nest won’t bring your youth back or give you a long life. Some Island Nest promoters say a regular diet of 10 grams a day is necessary.

Island Nest

Island Nests are made by the saliva of the swiftlet and the saliva is produced by the glands under the tongue. Swiftlets are small birds usually found in South-East Asia. The swiftlet lives in dark caves and similar to bats use echolocation to move around. Instead of twigs and straw, the swiftlet makes its nest from strands of its own gummy saliva which hardens when exposed to air.

This is where the controversy also comes in. Swiftlets are an endangered species and the more nests that are consumed the closer swiftlets head towards extinction. Swiftlets are especially endangered in areas like the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There are also places like Dazhou Island and Hainan where the Chinese government has banned harvesting Island Nest as swiftlets are nearly extinct in these locations.

Harvesting Nests

Today in many places, for example, Malaysia and Thailand, people have started farming the swiftlet’s to collect their nests. These farms are using empty houses as swiftlet’s homes.

Some of the processes of harvesting nests are extremely dangerous. The nest collector usually uses a very narrow, shaky, and long wooden ladder which they climb on top of to reach the nests which are usually located at the top of caves.

Many nest collectors have lost their lives because of this.

History of Island Nest

Chinese people began consuming Island Nest during the Ming Dynasty and in some tales, it’s believed Zhen He (鄭和), who was a Chinese explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, was the first person in Chinese history to eat Island Nest.

There are different grades of Island Nest which are red, yellow, and white. The red Island Nest is known in Chinese as the “blood-red Island Nest (血燕). The red Island Nest is the rarest. Some people believe the blood red Island Nest is made of the swiftlet's blood but that’s not true at all. The reason the Island Nest turn “blood red” is due to different diet and contained more mineral and different kind of nutrition.

Consuming Island Nest

The Island Nest doesn’t really have a lot of taste and the texture is a bit like softened gelatin and jelly. Chinese people usually cook Island Nest with rock sugar and serve as a sweet dessert soup. Some people prefer to cook Island Nest without rock sugar but mix it with some warm milk. The cooking process is extremely critical for cooking Island Nest. Microwave cooking or boiling on a stove will lose any taste it has as well as lose any of its nutritional values.

The common way to cook Island Nest is to slowly and gently steam it after soaking it in water.

Trivia and nutritional facts about Island Nest

Island Nest is a popular and rather expensive soup that originated in China. This soup used to be served to the affluent. But thanks to China’s booming economy, nouveau riche is able to afford this specialty soup. For a soup that has a mild flavor and very little nutrients, it commands hundreds of dollars per bowl. What’s so special about the soup anyway?

The soup’s main ingredient is an Island Nest. Instead of collecting twigs and leaves, the swiftlets would use their saliva to create white or black colored nests. The bird’s saliva hardens when exposed to air.

Swiftlets are high-flying birds that nest in the walls of caves. There are four species of swiftlets, three of which are native to Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines.

Using bamboo sticks, gatherers would harvest the gummy nests on steep cave walls by hand. One wrong move and the nests could cost a gatherer his life. There is a high demand for Island Nest in China. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the nests are used to treat diseases. The difficulty of harvesting the nests coupled by the high demand for it, made Island Nest a rare and prized commodity.

Trivia and nutritional facts about Island Nest

Facts About Island Nest

It’s Virtually Flavorless

Just like shark’s fin, Island Nest has no flavor of its own. When making a soup, the chef relies on other spices to flavor the dish. Essentially, the Island Nest adds texture and minimal nutrients to the soup. Island Nest is best consumed on an empty stomach. This way, the body can absorb the nutrients.

Quality by Color

Island Nests are sorted according to their color. The whitest of all are the most expensive. Grayish or even red-colored Island Nests are often more affordable. The color of the nests did not come from the swiftlet’s blood. It’s caused by two things: oxidation or absorption of chemicals.

No Proven Healing Benefits

Although revered in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Island Nest is not proven to cure any disease. However, the nest contains a type of protein that may strengthen the immune system. But scientific evidence is needed to support this claim.

May Accelerate Recovery

The Chinese usually serve Island Nest to sick people. According to TCM specialists, the pre-digested proteins in the soup may help speed up recovery. But again, there is no scientific data to back this up.

The Dark Side of Destroying Swiftlet’s Natural Habitat

Tons of Island Nests are being exported to China from Southeast Asian nations per year. Over- farming and habitat exploitation caused a sharp decline on swiftlets population – particularly in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

In Malaysia where Island Nest is an emerging industry, business owners started building swiftlets farms. Unfortunately, conditions have to be perfect for the swiftlets to nest. According to one study, “internal airflows, relative humidity, air temperature distributions and light intensity are needed to create the right environment for swiftlets to breed.” Without taking these factors into consideration, Island Nest farming will fail.

Conservationists around the world warn about the dangers of exploiting the population of swiftlets. The caves in which they live have fragile, self-sustaining ecosystem. The dwindling population of swiftlets will also affect the other animals that live in these caves.

Island Nest: A Breakdown Of The Ancient Delicacy

You might have heard of it, some of you may have even tried it, but many of us appear to be mystified by it. So, what exactly is Island Nest, why is it so expensive and is there scientific data that can prove its health benefits?

 

Island Nest: A Breakdown Of The Ancient Delicacy

What’s in Island Nest?

The name ‘Island Nest’ conjures up images of twigs and tree bark. To the uninitiated, it’s hard to countenance how it could (or even why it should) be ingested in the form of a drink or a soup, nevermind how such a substance could provide health benefits to the consumer.

In order to understand more about this rare delicacy, there are a few basic things to understand. Firstly, the nest is taken from a bird called a swiftlet, indigenous to certain parts of Asia and areas of Australia. Swiftlets, unlike most birds, make their nests by expelling saliva. The saliva dries and hardens upon contact with air to form the nest which is, of course, edible. So, in other words, what you’re ingesting is…bird spit.

Is there scientific evidence to support its purported health benefits?

It appears that the health benefits of Island Nest have yet to be disproven. Authoritative sources—from research mostly conducted in Singapore and Malaysia—suggest that the nests contain a significant amount of nutritional value. However, the long term positive physical effects have yet to be tracked comprehensively. In other words, the chemistry has been verified, and the nests appear to be loaded with healthy properties, but the final step will be to make an inarguable, empirical conclusion based on longitudinal evidence.

For now, the only negative coverage has been around cultivation methods—diseases can occur among farmed swiftlets when they are packed into single houses. Traditional methods of gathering nests by hand in a healthy ecosystem are less problematic, although there are obvious questions of sustainability around the practice.

Breaking down the health benefits

A detoxifier and oxygen supplier

Island Nest contains eighteen amino acids, some of which aren’t produced naturally by the human body. Amino acids provide many positive health benefits. The group present in Island Nest combine to increase the rate at which our bodies metabolize toxic substances. They also stimulate the growth of red blood cells which are needed to carry oxygen throughout the body while expelling carbon dioxide.

Fights chronic diseases, increases nerve functionality and energy

Trace minerals in Island Nest include Manganese (Mn), Copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn) which together provide a powerful boost to many important functions of the body. Manganese is needed to maintain normal nerve and brain function. Also, it helps the body form connective tissues and balance sex hormones, and it also assists in fat and carbohydrate metabolization, as well as with blood sugar regulation. Copper plays a vital role in energy and red blood cell production. It helps to maintain nerve cells, and to regulate the immune system. And Zinc improves immunity and digestion. It also serves as a strong antioxidant, slowing the aging process while acting as an anti-inflammatory agent. It has numerous therapeutic applications for chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.

An immune system booster

Island Nest is said to have positive effects on the liver and the kidneys when consumed regularly for long periods of time. It’s loaded with predigested protein and nutrients, and consuming these in this rare form may aid the body in fighting off illness and disease. In fact, Island Nest is currently being tested for its potential prevention of HIV according to The Japan Times.

Better skin

This claim probably has the most supportive research behind it. The positive effects are hard to argue with. It has anti-aging and anti-acne agents, and it increases collagen and elastin due to its high levels of galactose and threonine. When combined with glycine, those elements can act to prevent wrinkles, support the reconstruction of skin cells, and reduce the formation of pigmentation spots giving way to an overall more balanced complexion.

Other benefits

Other health benefits include the following—greater appetite, improved digestion, cold and flu prevention, cell regeneration and cartilage restoration. It’s also highly prized as a healthy supplement for pregnant women.

Why is it so expensive?

Perhaps the most important factor that affects the cost of Island Nest is its rarity. The birds are cave dwellers, and often build their nests within high caverns of limestone karsts, making the process of retrieving them extremely dangerous. Foragers are often people from mountainous areas who do not use modern day climbing equipment, which makes this an extremely high risk job. The harvesting process is also a time consuming one that requires countless hours of manual labor.

How is Island Nest consumed?

First, Island Nest needs to be cleaned. According to one local expert, Hai Duong, each individual nest can contain tens of thousands of insects, all of which must be hand-plucked before distribution.

Island Nest has been consumed in China for at least 400 years, most often in the form of a soup. However, it can also be served as a gelatinous dessert or a drink. It is often mixed with sugar because of the nest’s bland taste profile. In Vietnam, it’s primarily consumed in the form of a drink or edible extract, rather than a soup or dessert.

Due to the fact that it has historically been treasured for its skin enhancing properties, prevention of wrinkles and other skin-promoting effects, it shouldn’t be surprising to discover that it has recently entered the cosmetics market, and can be found in various high-end beauty products, especially in countries like Korea and Japan. In fact, it has been suggested that this trend is nothing new. Geishas, stories say, would even go so far as to even smear the bird’s droppings on their faces in order to enhance their skin.

How much is it Vietnam?

Island Nest remains one of the most expensive gastronomic items on the planet. Depending on the grade of the nest and whether you prefer to purchase it in its raw form, as a drinkable liquid, or as a food, the price will vary greatly. The highest grade available is 90% pure, which is edible as soon as the nest is harvested. When purchased in its raw form, one kilogram of high-grade Island Nest can reach prices as high as US $5,000, but on average, one kilogram currently sells for around US $2,500.

However, you can buy it in small quantities which helps to make it feel more affordable. An average price for a two-month, 100-gram stash will cost roughly US $150-200 for a medium grade nest. If you drink it daily, that means you will be spending around US $3.00 per day. When you look at it that way, it’s shouldn’t feel like such a significant investment after all.

Beware of fakes

Yes, there are countless fakes being sold across the globe, and in many forms. As with any high-end consumer product, do you research and know what you’re buying. Get to know the supplier and find one that you trust. If it’s cheap, you can guarantee it’s either fake, or the amount of real Island Nest is so low that its health benefits are negligible.

Know the facts

Ecological Factors

The rise in international demand for the delicacy has inarguably harmed the swiftlet population which is now considered on its way to becoming endangered. Over-harvesting is occurring and there has been a rise in inorganic farming methods. This has resulted in a desire to regulate the market, but this has yet to gain traction.

When to consume it

Keep in mind that most experts believe that in order to reap the benefits of Island Nest it must be consumed over long periods of time. And it shouldn’t be consumed more than once a day as the body cannot absorb that many nutrients in such a short period of time. Many say it’s best to consume Island Nest in the morning on an empty stomach in order to maximize the body’s capabilities to take the nutrients onboard.

How much to consume

Experts recommend 2 grams of dried Island Nest or 60-80 milliliters of liquid per day.

Our conclusion

It appears that the nutritional value of Island Nest is unarguable but, just like taking other vitamins and supplements, this comes with a price tag. When you do the math, when taken in limited amounts, Island Nest should be within budget. Remember, experts say you do need to be consistent in taking it, so don’t expect any benefits to appear immediately. And of course, as with everything else in life, the only way to know for sure is to try it out for yourself.

7 Things to Know About Island Nest

Created by swiftlets from their solidified saliva, which are harvested for human consumption. It may sounds super gross. But before you completely write-off having Island Nest soup for the rest of your life, you should know that these saliva-nests are rich in calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and plenty of other stuff that’s good for us. Plus, after cooking, it has a really strong egg white aroma that makes it smell pretty tasty.

Island Nest is one of the most popular ingredients in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  Here are some interesting facts about Island Nest:

 

7 Things to Know About Island Nest

1. Island Nest is best consumed on an empty stomach.

It is recommended to consume Island Nest on an empty stomach for better health benefits. But many people consumed it as a dessert or snack in the form of sweet soup as well.

2. The colour of red Island Nest does not come from the swiftlet’s blood.

Contrary to popular belief blood-red nests do not result from the regurgitation of blood from the swiftlet, the colour of red Island Nest is caused by either oxidation, minerals absorbed from the environment or the diet of the swiftlet.

3. Men may use Island Nest to promote overall immunity.

Island Nest has high glycoprotein content, growth factors and a neutral energetic property, which help boost a weak immune system. The benefits of glycoproteins are numerous. They act as blocking agents that prevent carcinogens both from attacking cells and from making changes to cells that have already been exposed to carcinogens. Many people make sure to include glycoproteins in their diet as a way to boost their immune systems and prevent or delay the spread of cancer. (source: Livestrong.com)

4. Island Nest is traditionally used as a beauty food.

Studies have shown that Island Nest is rich in epidermal growth factor (EGF) which plays an important role in maintaining youthful, healthy skin structure and function.

5. Island Nest is believed to speed up recovery.

When Island Nest is consumed in moderation, its unique pre-digested form of proteins and nutrients is said to aid recovery from chronic illnesses. Island Nest may also help relieve respiratory ailments such as asthma or chronic coughs.

6. Seniors may use Island Nest to maintain and enhance their health.

Island Nest is traditionally used to clear Phlegm, ease chronic dry coughs and relieve fatigue – common complaints as we get older. Island Nest can also be used to stimulate the appetite, improve digestion and stimulate bowel movement.

7. Island Nest is a good supplement for growing children.

From a biological standpoint, Island Nest contains proteins, amino acids and minerals that are essential for healthy development. Regular consumption of Island Nest helps prevent colds and flus. By improving the function of the Lungs and Kidneys, Island Nest helps boost the body’s immune system and increase resistance to external environmental factors.

Have you personally felt the positive effect of the Island Nest? please share your story below.

Introduction to Island Nest

Island Nest  is one of the commonly use health-modulating foods in Chinese populations. In traditional Chinese medicine, Island Nest is known for its beneficial effects in treating several ailments including consumptive disease, tuberculosis, asthma, dry coughs, stomach ulcers, gastric troubles and bronchial disorders. Due to food and medicinal values, Island Nest is quite an expensive animal bioproduct, and has thus created lucrative industry in Southeast Asia. It is one of the main contributors of gross domestic product in several Southeast Asian Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and others.

Island Nest is the dried saliva of swallows / swiftlets commonly found in the Southeaast Asian Countries e.g. Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnamese. Swiftlets are tiny insectivorous birds that often keep on catching insects during flight from nearly first light until dark. Amongst the several swiftlet species in Collocalia genus, only the nests producted by Collocalia fuciphaga, Collocalia germannis, Collocalia maxima and Collocalia unicolor are commercially important due to their human consumptions.

Island Nest  is called differently in different languages e.g. Yan Wo in Chinese, Sarang Wallet in Indonesian and Enso in Japanese. The saliva secreted from the sublingual salivary glands of swiftlets during nesting and breeding season is the main material used in building of the nests. Generally, the sublingual salivary glands of swiftlets increase in weight from 2.5 to 160mg, and reach their maximum secretory activity during nesting and breeding season. Nests are built using saliva as a cementing material for binding feathers and other vegetation together. It also ensures firm attachment to the vertical walls of inland or seaside caves.

Introduction to Island Nest 

Grading of Island Nest

The grading of Island Nest is measured on account of their dry mass, the time spent by swiftlets in building nest, and finally the fat and protein content of hardened saliva. As an example, the white nests are almost entirely made from saliva, while the black ones are composed of almost 45-55% feathers and small dried leaves.

The bowl shaped Island Nest is the most popular one in the market compare to other shapes e.g. triangle (corner nest), broken pieces, etc.

History of Island Nest

The earliest history of Island Nest trade dates back to almost 1000 years ago in China, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). However, some researchers believe that the Island Nest trade can only be traced back to 1589 when Ming Dynasty ruled the ancient Chinese Empire. It is said that the Admiral Cheng Ho visited Southeast Asia and was given gift of Island Nest from Indonesia for the Ming Dynasty’s Emperor. This is assumed to be the initial stimulus for opening the trade of these valuable nests.

During the ancient Chinese civilization, only the families of the Emperor and his ministers were privileged with the right to consume the highly valued Island Nest. But, after the end of the monarchy system in China, the general population was introduced to Island Nest. Because of the delicious, nutritive and medicinal properties of Island Nest, its fame rose gradually and steadily among the general public.

Nowadays, Island Nest is reputed as one of the most popular delicacies among the Chinese communities. In addition to the consumption of Island Nest for health-promoting effects and nutritional components, most of the people consume it as mere delicious and nutritious food item.

 

Health Benefits and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

TCM has claimed a long time ago that Island Nest has highly encouraging effects for the cure and treatment of consumptive diseases, difficult breathing, dry coughs, alleviating asthma, tuberculosis, hemoptysis, asthenia, improving voice, stomach ulcers, relieving gastric troubles and general weakness of bronchial ailments. Besides, Island Nest is also famous for the proper and healthy nourishment of kidneys, heart, lungs and stomach. Additionally, it helps in raising libido, fortifying the immune system, promoting growth, improving concentration, improving skin complexion, slowing down the aging processes, increasing energy and metabolism, and regulating circulation.

The regular consumption of Island Nest has been associated with healthy effects such as high-spirited physical and mental strength, and youthfulness restoration. Proteins are the main ingredients of Island Nest. They are generally used for the building and repair of body cells and tissues, and driving other metabolic functions. Carbohydrates are another major ingredients of Island Nest. Sialic acid is one of the major carbohydrates found in Island Nest, which mediates the distribution and structure of gangliosides in brain. The essential trace elements such a calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, iodine and some essential amino acids are the other main and major ingredients in Island Nest.

In the view of these facts, Island Nest is highly nutritive and restorative food with sweet and calm character appropriate for consumption by all age groups of all genders. Recent studies have demonstrated Island Nest as a potent medicinal substrate with a wide range of medicinal properties including antiviral, anticancer, eye care, bone strength, neuroprotective and anti-oxidant effects. Besides, Island Nest has been found to potentiate the proliferation of HASCc. In addition, epidermal growth factor like activity has been documented for Island Nest in several experiments.

Although Island Nest has been traditionally prescribed to cure diseases for many generations the actual characteristics and properties of Island Nest have not been studied in detail.

Target Market

At present, the main target market for Island Nest is the Chinese community all over the world. However, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan stand out as the top consumers of this product followed by Singapore, U.S.A. and Middle East countries among others. Island Nest is regarded as an esteemed cuisine by upper class Chinese families and highly appreciated for its health benefits. At diners in expensive Hong Kong restaurants, each bowl of the highest quality Island Nest costs almost USD $30 – $100. There is a stable demand for Island Nest from the restaurants. However, the demands are at peak during the Chinese New Year period. Island Nest is usually given as a gift during this period as it symbolizes good health and longevity wishes for the recipient.

In addition, it is a symbol of status in society. Island Nest soup has been a core part of Chinese tradition and culture for hundreds of years now. The increase of wealth in the Asian region, along with a big increase in the price of bowl of Island Nest soup has made Island Nest “the Caviar of the East”

Island Nest is highly expensive animal bioproduct. The trade of Island Nest in the global market has been on the rise for decades. It is expected that the demands of the Island Nest will continue to increase irrespective of their low production.

Hidden Facts of Island Nest

Island Nest  is hardened salivary material secreted by the male birds of several species of swiftlets  Island Nest during nest building. The birds secrete saliva and use it as cementing material to bind feathers and vegetation together, and shape them into nests with attachment to the walls of inland or seaside caves. Often nest weighs 1-2 times the swiftlet’s body weight. It only supports the mother and the nestlings. The nest construction is completed in 35 days.

Traditionally, Island Nest is classified both before and after processing. The commonly used classification of Island Nest is based on the nest’ external morphological features such as size, shape, feathering, appearance and color. However, traditional classification of Island Nest did not include the species of Island Nest-producing swiftlet thus making the classification of Island Nest inadequate and confusing. Additionally, further classification is based on the location of collection and the country of origin.

On the basis of shape, Island Nest  has been categorized into several types such as nest cup, nest cake and cracked pieces nest. Consideration of the size of nests gives rise to one more class of Island Nest, fingers grade (unprocessed nest). In terms of the aspects of feathering, Island Nest has been categorized into premium grade nest, second class grade nest and third class grade nest. On the basis of physical appearance, Island Nest has been classified into grass nest, feather nest, Island Nest. On the basis of colour, Island Nest has been classified into white nest, blood nest and Hua Yan. On the basis of location, Island Nest has been classified as Gomantong nest, cave nest, house nest and Sarawak nest. On the basis of country of origin, there are several classes – Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia nests.

Moreover, Island Nest can also be divided into cave nest and house nest. Cave nests are mainly harvested from natural caves, whereas house nests are made by swiftlets in the attic of countryside houses.

 

Hidden Facts of Island Nest 

Collection of Nests

Cave nests are harvested by local people via a complex system of management and ownership. The nest harvesting process is often painful and risky. The use of nest harvesting techniques depends on several factor such as the cave site, cave height above the ground or water bed, and some other related factors. For the collection of nests in some caves in Kakus, Malaysia, 3 fishing net is placed across the stream in the cave to catch any fallen nest. For the collection of nests built high on cave walls, temporary frames made from locally collected bamboo or ironwood are used. In low lying caves in Baram, Malaysia, nests are usually collected by hands. The nest collection seasons in Niah and Sarawak, Malaysia, last for 30 to 60 days, while it lasts only two weeks in Baram, Malaysia.

Collection of house nests is a relatively easy task but care needs to be taken of the birds’ comfort, and also skilled and knowledgeable workers are generally involved.

Physical and Biochemical Analysis of Island Nest

Proximate and mineral analysis are some of the predominant methods of analysis for nutritional testing of foods. Proximate analysis represents the crude proteins, fats and fibres, moisture, ash and carbohydrate contents. Many of the food analysis methods in use today are procedures based on a system initially introduced almost 100 years ago. Proximate and mineral analysis is used for the analysis of animal feedstuffs. It involves the estimation of main components of a food using procedures that allow a reasonably rapid and acceptable measurement of various food ingredients without the need for sophisticated equipment or chemicals. Usually the analysed components are crude proteins, fats and fibres, moisture, ash and carbohydrates.

Physical Analysis

The physical analysis involves the determination of the contents of moisture, fibres and ash, and the protein profile of Island Nest.

Moisture

The vast majority of methods for the determination of moisture are based on oven drying techniques. Even though these procedures are widely varied, they do not accurately measure water content, and instead measure the volatile matter. The moisture content in Island Nest was 7.50 % as reported by Marcone. However, publicly available Island nest moisture content usually varies from 10-50%. It has been observed that some unethical Island Nest sellers prefer to sell nests with higher moisture content in order to earn more profits. However, Island Nest with high moisture content will be subjected to the growth of bacteria and fungi, which causes damage and browning of nests. With moisture content controlled below 15%, the Island Nest shelf-life can be prolonged for a longer time even without refrigeration. It is noteworthy to state that it is impossible to maintain Island Nest at 0% moisture content in cup shape as it will be fragile to hold its shape.

Fibres

Fibres are polysaccharides and lignin, which are resistant to hydrolysis by enzymes in the human alimentary canal. As per this definition, the dietary fibre includes non—starch polysaccharides, resistant starch and lignin. It is important to note that no fibre content was found in Island Nest by Marcone, Saengkrajang et al. and Sarawak Museum Department.

Ash

Generally, the percentage of ash in food and food products is determined by weight loss after ignition at 525-550 °C. Some types of food matrices call for slightly higher temperatures and numerous sample preparation techniques are recommended for certain types of food products. Processed nests were found to have around 2.5-3.0 % of ash by the Sarawak Museum Department. The reports by Marcone indicated that Island Nest ash content was around 2.10%. 5.9-7.4% ash content was reported by Saengkrajang et al in several Island Nest samples from Thailand. Hamzah and co-workers reported 5.58-13.88% ash content in the Island Nest samples collected from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines.

Protein Profile

According to Goh et al, the molecular weight of Island Nest proteins is in the range of 14- 97 kDa. This means the size of Island Nest proteins is relatively small and the separation has to be carried out in a small pore medium. Basically, the pores of agarose gel are relatively large compared to polyacrylamide gels. In addition, many problems have been encountered with the use of agarose for gel electrophoresis. Agarose contains charged groups, principally sulphate and carboxylic acid groups. These groups interact with charged groups on the ionized macromolecules, especially proteins, and hinder their electrophoretic migration. Furthermore, the presence of anionic groups on the support medium leads to an electro- osmotic effect, which alters the electrophoretic mobility of migrating sample molecules. So agarose gel is less suitable for the protein profiling of Island Nest.

Some of the reports by Goh et al demonstrated the use of SDS polyacrylamide electrophoresis to identify lgE in Island Nest, which induces anaphylaxis. The authors also immunochemically characterized the Island Nest allergen. The protein profiles of commercially available and fresh Island Nest samples from Sarawak were different. The fresh unprocessed Island Nest had more and distinct protein bands. These findings were an indication of the fact that commercial processing may have reduced the amount of intact protein originally present in the fresh nests.

Biochemical Analysis

The physical analysis of Island Nest involves the determination of the contents of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and amino acids.

Proteins

Different protein contents of Island Nest have been reported. Du et al. [15] characterized the major allergens in Island Nest using the combined technologies of 2-DE, immunochemistry, N-terminal protein sequencing and MS. The immuno—staining of the Western blots of the Island Nest 2-DE separated proteins with the sera from allergic patients indicated the presence of a major allergen of 66 kDa. Initial searches of the MALDl—TOF-MS tryptic peptide masses of the allergen in the SWISS— PROT and NCBl non—redundant databases revealed that Island Nest protein was novel.

The average crude protein content in Island Nest has been reported by Su et al. [16] as 53.26 %, Marcone as 62- 63%, Kathan and Weeks as 32.3 %, Saengkrajang et al. as 61.0-66.9%, Hamzah et al. as 59.8-65.4/00, Norhayati et al. as 57.9-65.2/00 and more than 75-85.6% by Sarawak Museum Department. Several studies have been carried out in order to define the precise roles of oligosaccharide chains in the functionality of glycoprotein. Several glycoprotein functions have been identified but many are still under investigation. As Island Nest consists of mucin types of glycoproteins, it can serve as lubricant and protective agent.

Fats

Fats are considered a subclass of lipids. The US FDA food labelling regulations define fats as the sum of fatty acids expressed as triglyceride equivalents for nutrition labelling purposes. Saturated fats are fatty acids without double bonds. Island Nest has very little fat content. The average fat content value reported by Marcone was 0.14%, while Sarawak Museum Department proclaimed the fat content was between 02-03% by dry weight. Recently, the studies by Saengkrajang et al. on the Island Nest samples collected from different regions in Thailand indicated that fats formed 04-13% of the total composition. The fatty acid analysis by Marcone indicated that the Island Nest fat consisted of palmitic (316:0, stearic C18:0, linoleic C18:1 and linoleic C182 acids. The ratio between different fatty acids was dependent on the types of Island Nest.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are a very important class of compounds that are known to form essential food as well as structural components of living species. Carbohydrates are commonly classified into monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Phenol-sulphuric acid reaction for carbohydrate analysis of both white and red Island Nest was carried out by Marcone. The tests indicated that carbohydrates were the second highest occurring components (27.26%) in the entire nest with some differences. Additionally, it was reported that white Island Nest had slightly more total carbohydrate content than the red Island Nest. According to Kathan and Weeks, the carbohydrate component in Island Nest consists of 9% sialic acid, 7.2% galactosamine, 5.3% glucosamine, 16.9% galactose and 0.7% fructose. The sialic acid is believed to be N-acety1-4-O-acetylneuraminic acid. A new, sialic-acid-derived compound was isolated from the acid hydrolysate of Island Nest by IEC Combined use of MS, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy established that it is the 4,8—anhydr0 derivative of N-acetylneuraminic acid, and in solutions it exists in two tautomeric forms.

A GC detection method was developed to identify the composition of the oligosaccharide chain within the glycoprotein in Island Nest. This composition includes D—mannitose, D-galactose, N- acetyl-D-galactosamine, N—acetyl-D-glucosamine and N-acetyl neuraminate, which constituted the oligosaccharide chain. The peak-area ratios in GC spectrum for the five monoses were found to be fixed; therefore, the GC technique developed in this work was conveniently used to determine the various raw Island Nest and their products both qualitatively and quantitatively. This method serves as a marker to distinguish between the fake and the genuine Island Nest rapidly.

Minerals and Metal Ions

For the studies of metal and mineral content in Island Nest, several characteristics unique to toxicants and nutrients need consideration. Therefore, a distinction must be made between necessary minimal intake and toxic overexposure in the Island Nest. There has been no evidence of any metal found in the Island Nest; studied for metal content. The presence of heavy metals in foods may be either due to agricultural processing or from contamination in the food chain.

Several metals have important biological roles within the human body and thus, are considered essential for good health. Such metals are frequently known as minerals. Fourteen minerals have been proved as essential to human health. These essential minerals include calcium, chromium, copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium and zinc. Nevertheless, at threshold concentrations, a number of these essential metals become potentially toxic. Minerals are considered as micronutrients as they are needed in relatively small amounts and belong to two groups, the macro or bulk minerals; and the micro or trace minerals. Minerals are inorganic elements, and therefore, are not produced by plants and animals. Some of the minerals work as coenzymes, enabling chemical reactions to occur throughout the body.

Processed Island Nest contains reasonable amounts of calcium, iron, and riboflavin. Marcone also detected sodium (650 ppm), potassium (110 ppm), calcium (1298 ppm), magnesium (330 ppm), phosphorous (40 ppm) and iron (30 ppm) in Island Nest. White Island Nest was found to be richer in calcium than red Island Nest. All the red Island Nest tested were found to have typically higher levels of iron. Some researchers believe that minerals found in Island Nest are leached from the cave substrate where the nests are built. The presence of natural minerals in cave nests and absence in farmed house nets enables the former to withstand longer hours of cooking, whereas the later disintegrates rapidly when cooked. However, there is little published research on the minerals levels in Island Nest.

Amino

Acids Amino acid analysis of Island Nest involves the identification and quantification of amino acids contained in a particular sample type. Since Island Nest is consumed as supplementary food, therefore, it is very important to study the protein quality of Island Nest, which is determined by the amino acid composition. Su et al. developed a capillary electrophoretic method for the determination of amino acid profile of Island Nest.

Eighteen types of amino acids were analyzed with identification of seventeen types including aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, lysine, proline, histidine, arginine, tryptophan and cysteine. Aspartic acid, histidine, proline, serine and glycine were found to be in relatively higher amounts than the other amino acids.

It was concluded by the authors that Island Nest does not contain hydroxyproline and methionine. Besides, the authors did not carry out the composition identification of glutamine and asparagine. Kathan and Weeks reached a similar conclusion stating that Island Nest is rich in amino acids. Seventeen types of amino acids were identified in Island Nest, namely, aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, proline, glycine, alanine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, lysine, histidine, arginine and cysteine. Besides, serine, proline, glutamic acid, threonine and aspartic acid were found in relatively higher amounts. However, the identifications of tryptophan, glutamine and asparagine were not carried out.

Newman after some studies on the amino acid composition of Island Nest documented that Island Nest is deficient in three essential amino acids, namely lysine, methionine and tryptophan. However, Newman’s claims were proved incorrect later on. Marcone identified and quantitated seventeen types of amino acids including aspartic acid, asparagine, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, glutamine. glycine, alanine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, lysine, histidine and arginine in Island Nest. The contents of serine, valine, isoleucine and tyrosine were found to be fairly higher compared to others. However, in his work, the analysis of proline, tryptophan and cysteine was not carried out. Furthermore, amino acid analysis revealed that white Island Nest protein was substantially rich in two specific aromatic amino acids which are phenylalanine and tyrosine.

Quality of Island Nest

Due to the fact that cave nests are made by free and naturally-living swiftlets, some people considered them to be more valuable than house nests, and, hence, fetch a higher price. However, in reality, cave nests generally contain more foreign materials and feathers than house nests. Cave nest are exposed to the risk contamination by heavy metals from the external environment. The texture of house nests is usually smoother as compared to that of cave nests. Besides, the house nests have less feathers and other contaminants in comparison to the cave nests.

High Quality Island Nest Sydney

There are various types of Island Nest products in the market. The current quality of Island Nest is not verifiable and its quality claims are totally dependent on the personal validation and rationale made by the manufacturers. Generally, Island Nest with feathers incorporated in the nest—cup is given lower grades. Good quality nests are distinguished by a comparatively large proportion of nest-cement with few feathers in the nest—cup. After personal observation of Island Nest trade practices in Malaysia, the colour of Island Nest is frequently used to grade Island Nest. Red coloured Island Nest, also known as red nest or red blood nest is thought to be of higher quality and thus, sells at a higher price. Unfortunately, due to this reason, the white Island Nest have been treated with red pigments which are either partially or wholly water-soluble so as to give the false appearance of the red blood nest and hence command a higher price from consumers.

The ancient Chinese communities were traditionally of the belief that the red coloured Island Nest were enriched by the blood of swiflets. It is due to this reason such nests are called “Blood Nests” and were considered to be more nutritious. However, it is also possible the area where the nest was built absorbed iron from its environment. Marcone was of the conception that the red tarracota colour of the blood nest is very similar to the colour of the purified ovotrasferrin in its iron complexed state whereas the white coloured nest is similar in colour to ovotransferrin in its iron non-complexed form.

Further, X-ray microanalysis reports revealed that the blood nests contained relatively higher levels of iron compared to the white Island Nest. Thus, it is likely that the red coloured Island Nest are produced via the oxidization of iron in Island Nest. Mende suggested that the colour of the Island Nest may be due to the nest positions. Besides the above mentioned reasons, it is thought that the colour of nests is affected by the food consumed by swiftlets, which makes the saliva become red naturally. Nonetheless, at this moment, the true reason and factors affecting the colour of the nests are still a mystery.

The quality of the nest has to be monitored from the moment the nests are cultured, sorted, processed and packaged. Judgment regarding the quality of nets merely through the appearance and location of the final nest product will surely be misleading for consumers. In order to produce better quality nests, the nest building or cave environment has to be very clean. Clean environment is very important due to Island Nest strong absorption capacities. The nests are often contaminated by lizards, cockroaches, Chick’s corpse, bird’s stool and heavy metals, man-made contamination such as pesticides, sodium alginate, starch re-shaping, paints and colours, dust, etc. and therefore, a lot of care needs to be taken.

Recently, there have been many reports of fake or adulterated Island Nest made by adding several materials including fish skin, mushroom, algae, karaya gum, red sea weed, Tremella fungus, pork  skin, natural plant gum, jelly fungus and egg white. These materials are routinely incorporated during commercial processing prior to final sale. Generally, the weight of the nests is increased from 10-30 % to earn extra profits. This is a strong offense as it leads to several toxicities in Island Nest consumers.

The presence of nitrites in Malaysian Island Nest is another issue of concern regarding the safe consumption of nests. The export of Island Nest from Malaysia was banned by China on account of the detection of high levels of nitrates in the exported Island Nest. It is being estimated that the nitrite and nitrate contaminations in Island Nest were contributed by the fermentation process of bird soil and guano. Besides, the contribution of natural environmental resources such as atmosphere, water, and soil was also thought responsible for the contamination of nests. Nitrites are very harmful to human beings as they react with secondary amines and amides in the alimentary canal to form carcinogenic N-nitrosamines. Hence, it is a great concern to authenticate the purity of Island Nest and regulate the law to inspect Island Nest sold in the market to combat adultération.

Island Nest Cleaning Process

Edible Island Nests collection is followed by cleaning processes. Nest cleaning is a very important and time-consuming process. A great deal of care is taken during the cleaning of nests. Nest cleaning is usually performed by means of the conventional cleaning process described below.

Island Nest Cleaning Process

Conventional Cleaning Process

Generally, the harvested edible Island Nests consist of impurities like sand, feathers, egg shells, etc. The conventional cleaning process involves the immersion of nests in water and allowing them to swell. This enables an easy separation of the large feathers from the nest matrix by using forceps. However, care must be taken regarding the elution of the water soluble nutrients in Island Nest.

For the removal of the remaining small feathers, sometimes vegetable oil is used to float the feathers. However, addition of some bleaching agents like hydrogen peroxide to bleach the Island Nest has been carried out by some producers.

Use of hydrogen peroxide reduces the labour cost considerably, as the process is fast. The main drawback with using hydrogen peroxide is that it decolourises the black feathers (impurity) in addition to bleaching the nest colour to white. Therefore, the nests will appear clean but in reality some feathers still remain in the nest.

The hydrogen peroxide treated nests are claimed as safe and of food grade quality but, no producer has ever tried to assess the hydrogen peroxide content in nests after their processing. There are no clear guide lines in any country for the control of the tolerance limit of hydrogen peroxide content. Thus, the conventional method of nest cleaning suffers over health concerns. Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidant and harmful to the human body. Therefore, in order to avoid the hydrogen peroxide processed nests, it would be better for consumers to choose nest cups rather than nest cakes.

After cleaning process, the separated strands of Island Nest and broken filaments are arranged to make nest cake by molding. The shape of the mold could be in leaf shape, round or square, and it depends on the producer’s preference. This is followed by drying of the nests. The drying involves the use of fan or the nests are simply air dried. Many workers do not have adequate hygienic food processing knowledge, hence, they do not dry the nests quickly. This gives enough time to bacteria and fungi to grow prolifertate on the nests. Even the colour of some nests turn brownish or yellowish, and yet, the sellers call it the natural colour of the nests.

From the above discussion of the conventional cleaning methods and practices involved in the Island Nest cleaning industry, it can be seen that the conventional cleaning process of Island Nest has the following drawbacks.

·         The use of bleaching agent, which may be harmful of even destroy some essential nutrients within the treated Island Nest.

·         Additives degrade the nutritive and medicinal values of Island Nest.

·         Preservatives also degrade the quality of Island Nest as a food and medicine.

·         No care is taken of the preservation of nutrients during the treatment processes.

·         Generally, tap water is used.

·         The process uses the services of untrained workers.

·         Little or no regard is given to hygienic practices

·         Nest cakes are produced.

·         Generally, there is no quality control protocol being followed.

Improvement in the Cleaning Processes

Generally, premium grade and quality raw Island Nests are chosen from controlled. environment to avoid the presence of any heavy metals or other biological contaminants.

Skilled and well trained workers under the supervision of an expert are allowed to separate the feathers and dirt. High grade reverse osmosis water is used to ensure the cleanliness, and preserve the natural flavour and nutrients of the nest.

Processed Island Nest are dried in oven (no fan drying) until the right moisture content is achieved. Besides, implementation of the stringent quality control protocols for the end products will allow better grade of Island Nest.

With the advancement of knowledge in the food processing technology, some of the requirements which are stated below should be implement in the Island Nest cleaning industry. This will surely allow a better and healthy growth for the industry and increase the quality of the nests, since the public become more concerned we aware of the food they consume.

·         Use of bleaching agent should not be encouraged

·         Additives should be avoided.

·         No preservatives should be used.

·         Care should be taken of the preservation of nutrients.

·         Reverse Osmosis water should be used for the cleaning processes.

·         Highly skilled workers should be involved with the cleaning processes

·         Hygienic practices should be encouraged.

·         Whole nest cups should be developed.

·         Quality Control is a must.

Why Chinese Eat Island Nest and you probably should too!

The Hidden Facts & Nutritions

Edible Island Nest is one of the most popular delicacies among the Chinese communities due to its valuable nutritional components and health-promoting effects. Most of the people in the Southeast Asia region consume Island Nest as a delicious and nutritious food.

Nature has gifted the edible Island Nest with high value nutritional components. The findings regarding the ingredients of edible Island Nest, some called it as the Chinese Island Nest, fully justify it as a prized delicacy and effective medicine according to Chinese community.

Why Chinese Eat Island Nest and you probably should too!

Total Composition of Island Nest (in percent proximate analysis)

Moisture (7.5 – 12.9)

Ash (2.1 – 7.3)

Fat (0.14 – 1.28)

Proteins (42 – 63)

Carbohydrates (10.63 – 27.26)

Total Nitrogen (25.62 – 27.26)

Amino Acid Composition of Island Nest (in Molar percent)

Aspartic acid + asparagine (2.8 – 10.0)

Threonine (2.7 – 5.3)

Serine (2.8 – 15.9)

Glutamic acid + glutamine (2.9 – 7.0)

Glycine (1.2 – 5.9)

Alanine (0.6 – 4.7)

Valine (1.9 – 11.1)

Methionine (0 – 0.8)

Isoleucine (1.2 – 10.7)

Leucine (2.6 – 3.8)

Tyrosine (2.0 – 10.1)

Phenylalanine (1.8 – 6.8)

Lysine (1.4 – 3.5)

Histidine (1.0 – 3.3)

Arginine (1.4 – 6.1)

Tryptophan (0.02 – 0.08)

Cysteine (2.44)

Proline (2.0 – 3.5)

Fatty Acid (% analysis) / Triacyl Glycerol (% analysis) and Vitamin (mg/100gr) Composition of Island Nest

Palmitric C16:0 (23-26)

Steric C18:0 (26-29)

Linoleic C18:1 (22)

Linolenic C18:2 (26)

PPO (14-16)

OOL (13-15)

PLn Ln (18-19)

Monoglycerides (27-31)

Diglycerides (21-26)

Vitamin A (0.0771 – 0.912)

Vitamin D (0.15 – 3.19)

Vitamin C (0.12 – 29.30)

Mineral composition of Island Nest (measured in ppm)

Sodium (330-20,554)

Potassium (110-2645)

Calcium (798-14,850)

Magnesium (330-2980)

Phosphorus (40-1080)

Iron (30-1860)

Sulphur (6244-8840)

Manganese (3.58-122.10)

Zinc (19.95-72.40)

Copper (4.68-110.65)

Molybdenum (0-0.94)

Cobalt (0-0.63)

Nickel (0-0.47)

Vanadium (0.03-2.84)

Chromium (0-7.45)

Regular consumption of Island Nest as a tonic helps high-spirited physical and mental strength in addition to youthfulness restoration. Besides, it improves skin complexion and slowing down the aging process.

Proteins form a considerable fraction of the composition of Island Nest. These help in the building and repair of body cells and tissues, and driving other metabolic functions. Carbohydrates form another major portion of the composition of Island Nest with sialic acid as one of the major carbohydrates. Sialic acid has been known for mediating the distribution and structure of gagliosides in brain. Exogenous supplies of sialic acid enhance the neurological and intellectual processes in infants. Thus, sialic acid in Island Nest enhances the intellectual and mental development, however, its nutritional and biological mechanisms in human body are not fully known yet.

Essential trace elements such as phosphorus, calcium, sodium, iron, potassium, iodine, and essential amino acids are some main and major ingredients in Island Nest. In response to these facts, Island Nest acts as a highly nutritive and restorative food with sweet and calm character, and can be consumed by all age groups of all genders.

The frequent consumption of Island Nest by ladies makes their complexion fairer, and gives them radiant look. Additionally, during the periods of pregnancy in women, consuming edible Island Nest help to improve immunity of fetus and helps in easy recovery from debilitation after child birth.

The health effects of Island Nest in elderly people include strengthening of lungs and kidneys, phlegm clearance, fortifying of spleen and enhancing appetite. Island Nest helps to boost immunity in children. It is quite noteworthy that Island Nest extracts contain anti-common flu properties and, therefore, Island Nest may be regarded as a safe and natural source of proteins for the prevention of influenza.

Overall, Island Nest is a complete food enriched with a diverse pool of proteins, lipids, amino acids, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. This food either as Island Nest soup or in the form of beverages has got exciting health value as well as nutritional benefits. Chinese people have known about the secrets of edible Island Nest many years ago, would you give it a try? Feel free to write your comments below.

Medicinal Value of High Quality Genuine Island Nest

Island Nest has been used as medicine for a long time. Literature witnesses the consumption of ISLAND NEST as “bird’s nest soup” by Chinese populations from almost 1200 years ago.

Traditional Chinese Medicine recommends ISLAND NEST as one of the most important bioproducts with health improving effects such as growth promoting, anti-aging, immunity boosting, anti-cancer, anti-aging, dissolving phlegm, immunity-enchancing, alleviating asthma, curing tuberculosis, stomach ulcers and hematemesis, suppressing cough, improving voice, etc.

The uniqueness of ISLAND NEST in TCM is mainly due to its dual nature as it is being used as medicine on one hand and food on the other hand. There has been significant amount of research of ISLAND NEST as medicine, and some of the findings are discussed in the following sub-sections.

 

Medicinal Value of High Quality Genuine Island Nest

Anticancer Properties

Cancer stands as the second most deadly disease after cardiovascular diseases. It has created major public health havoc globally and, therefore, the agents for its treatment have always been in great demands.

Natural products as anticancer agents have always been appealing to researches owing to their promising effects within large safety margins. Presently, several natural product-based anticancer agents are used for treating different cancers. Rashed and Nazaimoon demonstrated the effects of ISLAND NEST on the proliferation of caco-2 cells by using the MTT assay.

The edibe bird nest samples were collected from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Kuala Lumpur comprising of two commercial brands and four unprocesed samples. Only 84 and 115% cells were found to proliferate on treatment with the two commercial ISLAND NEST samples. However, 91, 35 and 47% cells proliferations, respectively were reported on treatment with unprocessed ISLAND NEST samples from East Coast, North and South Zones. These results suggested the anticancer potential of ISLAND NEST.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) defines a group of medical and health care systems, practices and products, which are not considered as part of conventional medicine. In Singapore, both cancer patients from western and eastern cultures were exposed to CAM ranging from health supplements to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), traditional Malay (Jamu) medicine and traditional Indian (Ayurvedic) medicine. CAM usage is quite popular among cancer patients. Dietary changes, health supplements, herbal tea and birds nest were the main threapeutic ingredients of CAM.

There are documented usage of Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Singaporean adult cancer patients. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was completed by 403 adult cancer patients under treatment at the Ambulatory Treatment Unit of National Cancer Centre Singapore, among all the patients, 46% testified CAM usage including TCM, bird’s nest and special diet. 54% respondents updated their oncologists about CAM usage and interestingly, 66.4% of the oncologists agreed with CAM usage. The effective working of CAM against cancer was felt by majority of the patients.

This report indicates the benefits of the the consumption of Island Nest in cancer patients, however, it is very important for health-care professionals to be updated with Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research and to actively provide appropriate advise and counselling.

Of course, the studies involving the anticancer evaluation of Island Nest and its extracts have not been carried out over a large range of cancer cells. Only one preliminary study was found in the literature. One of the reasons for the lack of research may be that Island Nest is a rich food and, therefore, a growth promoter, and it is unlikely to kill cancer cells. However, this may not be true as well. Therefore, it is important to screen Island Nest over a range of cancer cell lines before any meaningful conclusion can be drawn.

Antiviral Properties

Viruses are microscopic infectious agents that replicate only inside living cells of orther organisms. They infect all life forms including animals, plants, bacteria and archaea. Viruses exhibit several structural and biochemical effects on host cells, the cytopathic effects. Most of the viral infections lead to the lysis of cells, alterations in cell membranes and ultimately the death of host cells. Cold, influenza, chickenpox, cold sores, AIDS, avian influenza and SARS, etc. are some of the most common diseases caused by viral infections.

Influenza is a viral infection caused by influenza virus. Its symptoms include high fever sore throat, runny nose, muscle pains, headache coughing and tired feeling Island Nest helps to neutralize influenza virus infection in MDCK cells and also causes the inhibition of hemmaglutination of human erythrocytes caused by influenza A viruses.

After hydrolyzation with Pancreatin F, Island Nest inhibits the infection caused by human, avian, and porcine influenza viruses in a host range-independent manner. However, Island Nest does not inhibit influenza virus sialidase, and the active inhibiting ingredient of Island Nest is susceptible to neuraminidase of influenza virus of all strains.

The Collocalia mucoid is an established substrate for influenza virus sialidase, wherein the inhibition can be destroyed by neuraminidase to some extend. Owing to the activites of ISLAND NEST against influenza viruses, the presence of a mixture of inhibitory substances in ISLAND NEST was suggested.

It was demonstrated by further studies that N-acetylneurominic acid, which is the major ingredient in ISLAND NEST might be responsible for this activity. It was very interesting to note that Island Nest (ISLAND NEST) showed no side effects such as hemolysis and cytolysis on erythrocytes and MDCK cells even at high 4mg/ml. Thus, ISLAND NEST with molecules smaller than 25 kDa after Pancreatin F treatment will be an effective and safe material as anti-virus. Further studies were carried out in this direction by Yagi and co-workers who demonstrated the N-glycosylation profile of ISLAND NEST. A tri-antennary N-glycan containing the alpha 2,3-N-acetylneuraminic acid residues was displayed as a major component. The sialylated high antennary N-glycans were thought responsible for the inhibition of influenza viral infection.

A thorough look into the literature indicated that there are not so many studies that could fully demonstrate the antiviral properties of ISLAND NEST, and therefore, further studies are needed against different pathogenic viruses to fully explore the antiviral properties of bird’s nest. Further, it would be more advantageous if some studies are carried out wherein ISLAND NEST are synergistically evaluated for antiviral properties with other antiviral agents.

Proliferation Effects on Human Adipose-derived Stem Cells

Stem cells represent a class of undifferentiated cells with ability of self-renewal, and differentiation into more than one types of cells. Generally, adipose stem cells (ASC’s) occur in almost every type of white adipose tisue. The pluripotent ASC’s differentiate into most of the mesenchymal cell types including adipocytes, chondrocytes, osteoblasts and mycocytes. The mesodermal origin of adipose cells make unlikely their differntiation into neural tissue of ectodermal origin. However, in vitro exposure to anti-oxidants makes adipose cells assume a bipolar morphology similar to neuronal cells. Stem cells are functionally vital for the repair of regeneration of damaged or diseased tissues. ASCs have been suggested as the best among the mesenchymal stem cells because of sufficient reverlations of their pluripotency, proliferating power and low donor morbidity. They are attractive candidates in regenerative medicine because they can be harvested in large numbers with low donor-site morbidity.

Roh and associates reported the proliferation of hADSCs by treatment with ISLAND NEST. ISLAND NEST strongly promoted the proliferation of hADSCs via the production of IL-6 and VEGF. IL-6 and VEGF production was triggered by the activation of AP-1 and NF-kB. Interestingly the production of IL-6 and VEGF was promoted by ISLAND NEST. The Production of IL-6 and VEGF was inhibited by PD98059 (ap44/42 MAPK inhibitor) and PDTC (a NF –kB inhibitor), but not SP600125 (a JNK inhibitor). Similarly, ISLAND NEST-induced proliferation of hADSC was also reduced by PD98059, SB203580 and PDTC but not SP600125. This report favoured the fact that ISLAND NEST-induced proliferation of hADSCs primarily occurred through augmented expression of IL-6 and VEGF genes, which was mediated by activation of NF-kB and AP-1 through p44/42 MAPK and p38 MAPK.

Epidermal Growth Factor like Property

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) causes the proliferation, growth and differentiation of cells by binding to its receptor EGFR. Human EGF is a 6045 Da protein containing of 53 amino acids residues with three intramolecular disulfide bonds. EGF is known to bind to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) with high affinity on cell surface. This binding interaction stimulates ligant-induced dimerization, which in turn activates the intrinsic protein-tyrosine kinase activity of the receptor.

The activation of tyrosine kinase activity results in a signal transduction cascade causing several biochemical changes within the cell, the rise in intracellular calsium levels, increased glycolysis and protein synthesis, and the expression of certain genes including the gene for EGFR. All these cellular changes ultimately lead to DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. Kong and associates demonstrate for the first time that some ingredient is present in ISLAND NEST with EGF-like activity. The authors observed that the EGF-like agent in ISLAND NEST stimulated thymidine incorporation in quiescent culture of 3T3 fibroblasts.

A critical analysis indicates that the EGF-like component of ISLAND NEST may be responsible for its rejuvenating properties. However, studies are needed to identify the substance, elucidate its structure and explore its possible potential for other biological effects alone, and in ISLAND NEST as a formulation both in vitro and in vivo.

Bone Strength Enchancement

Bones are hard and strong structures in human body forming the skeleton system and provide enormous support and protection to important organs of the body. Besides, bones are the resevoirs of red and white blood cell production, store minerals in addition to helping in movements and locomotion.

It is a well-known fact that strong bones make a strong body and vice versa. Matsukawa and co-workers documented that the enhancement in bone strength and dermal thickness due to supply of ISLAND NEST in diet in ovariectomized rats.

They observed that oral administration of ISLAND NEST enhanced calcium concentration and therefore, bone strength in femur of ovariectomized rats was improved. Additionally, ermal thickness also increased by the administration of ISLAND NEST. However, ISLAND NEST had no effect on the serum estradiol concentration. These results were an indication of the fact that ISLAND NESTE was effective in the improvement of bone strength and skin anti-aging in postmenopausal women.

Osteoarthritis (OA); a degenerative disease degrades joints including articular cartilage and subchondral bone This disease is characterized by acute pain and often causes loss of ability and stiffness. ISLAND NEST has been documented to contain some important ingredients reducing the development of osteoarthritis and helping the regeneration of cartilage.

The effect of ISLAND NEST on the catabolic and anabolic biochemical activities of the human articular chondorcytes (HACs) isolated from the knee join of OA patients was described by Chua. The study indicated that 0.50-1.00% of the ISLAND NEST hot-water extract addition promoted the proliferation of HACs. Besides, the reduction in the expression of catabolic genes such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMP1 & MMP3), Interleukin 1, 6 and 8 (IL-1, IL-6, IL8), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in cultured HACs was observed due to ISLAND NEST supplementation. Additionally, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) Production was significantly reduced in HACs. However, type II collagen, Aggrecan and SOX-9 gene expressions in addition to sGAG production was increased as revelaed by anabolic activity assessment. This report revealed the in vitro chondro-protection potential of ISLAND NESTE on human articular chondrocytes. Thus, ISLAND NEST may be suggested as a potential agent for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Eye Care Properties

Eyes are the sensory organs that react to light resulting into the sensation of sight. Rod and cone cells forming retina allow conscious light perception and vision. Human eye distinguishes approximately 10 millin colours. Cornea forms the transparent frontal portion of the eye covering iris, pupil and the anterior chamber; and consists of three cell layers: epithelium, stroma, and endothelium.

Each layer carries specific function and ensure the optimal functioning of cornea in normal mission in addition to acting as protective barrier from external environment. Corneal stroma, which is filled by keratocytes bound by extracellular matrix forms about 90% of the corneal volume.

Keratocytes originate from mesenchyma of the corneal stroma and ensure the synthesis and maintenance of the extracellular matrix (ECM) components. The cornea is generally damaged by injuries such as abrasions, localized burns or surface or depth injuries.

For the development of medications for the care of keratocytes; Zainal Abidin demonstrated the effects of ISLAND NEST on rabbit corneal keratocytes. The ISLAND NEST effects were investigated on six New Zealand White Rabbits using MTT assay in FDS and FD. The highest cell proliferation was observed when both edia were supplied with 0.05% and 0.1% ISLAND NEST, and cell proliferation was consistently higher in FDS compared to FD. The corneal keratocytes conserved their phenotypes with ISLAND NEST addition, which was confirmed by phase contrast micrograph and gene expression analysis. This report revealed the fact that low ISLAND NEST concentration synergistically induced cell proliferation, especially in serum containing medium. This is a very important breakthrough since both cellular proliferation and proper functioning maintenance are essential during corneal wound healing.

Neuroprotective Properties

Neurodegeneration involves the progressive loss of the structure and function of the basic units of nervous system, neurons. Neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s occur as eventual results of neurodegenerative processes.

Globally Parkinson’s disease, an age-related progressive neurodegeneration was estimated to be prevalent in approximately 9 million people over the age of 50 years by the end of 2030. Parkinson’s disease is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra and consequently leading to dopamin depletion in the striatum. In addition, abnormal accumulation of a-synuclein has also been reported in surviving neurons. The dopamine depletion wanes motor functions and causes the patients to show clinical signs including tremor, rigidity and slow responsiveness. Yew investigated the effect of ISLAND NEST on SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. It was observed that the crude ISLAND NESTE did not cause the death of SH-SY5Y cells up to 75 ,ug/ml concentrations. Besides, the maximum non-toxic dose (MNTD) of water extract of ISLAND NEST was double to that of crude extract. Moreover, the intensity of 6-hydroxydopamine-induced apoptopic changes in SH-SY5Y cells reduced by ISLAND NEST treatment, which was clear from morphological and nuclear staining observations. Further, it was interesting to note the improvement in cell viability with crude ISLAND NEST extract in coparison to the water extract. However, water extract was more potent in improving ROS build up, early apoptotic membrane phosphatidylserine externalization and the inhibition of caspase-3 cleavage. It is quite evident from this reearch article that ISLAND NEST induce neuroprotective effects agains 6-6-hydroxydopamine-induced degeneration of dopaminergic neurons via the inhibition of apoptosis and, hence, may serve a possible nutraceutical option for the protection against oxidative stress-relateive neurodegenerative disorders.

Anti-oxidant Properties

There are several anti-oxidant systems within the human body that negotiate the oxidative stress from regular metabolic processes. Additionally, the dietary anti-oxidants also fight with the cell-damaging effects of free radicals. Dietary anti-oxidants may act either independently or in association with the endogeneous systems, and have always been beneficent to human health. Their absence in diet causes several diseases due to unrestricted oxidative stress. Several fruits and vegetables have exhibited protective effects against some cancers and other diseases. This is the reason that the people regularly consuming anti-oxidant rich fruits and vegetables have lesser frequencies of these of diseases.

ISLAND NEST has been shown to to display anti-oxidant properties as it contains several bioactive compounds such as glucosamine, lactoferrin, sialic acid, amino acids, fatty acids, triacyglycerol, minerals, vitamins and other anti-oxidants. The in vitro bioaccessibility and anti-oxidant properties of water extracts of ISLAND NEST are documented by Yida by using ABTS and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. The undigested water extract of ISLAND NEST demonstrated a little anti-oxidant activity (1 and 1% respectively at 1000 ,ug/mL) in comparison to the digested samples at similar concentrations (38 and 50%, respectively). Importantly, the ISLAND NEST extract were non-toxic towards HEPG2 cells and showed protective effects from hydrogen peroxide induced-toxicity towards HEPG2 cells. This study indicated that the digestion in gut releases the bioactive components of ISLAND NEST from their matrix, which are then absorbsed by passive transport. However, in vivo studies are needed to determine their further clinical significance.

Miscelleneous Properties

Obviously, ISLAND NEST is a nutritious food material and displays a broad spectrum of biological activities. The presence of health promoting ingredients in ISLAND NEST, and its use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM); have made it a subject of great interest. In addition to the biological activities of bird nest mentioned in the above sub-sections, it has exhibited several other biologically important properties such as lecin binding properties, cure to asthma, dry coughs, tuberculosis, stomach ulcer and gastric troubles.

There has been a great demand of skin care therapies including creams, analgesics, anti-acne and moisturizers throughout the world. Bird nest has the reputation for skin texture and complexion improving properties among the Chinese communities. Its consumption is known to help retain youthfulness and a clean clear facial complexion.

Edible bird nest also used for skin texture improvements in babies with frequent skin rash outbreaks. Some companies developed a skin-whitening/moisturizing eye mask with compositions of sargassum, edible bird nest, hydrolyzed pearl, aloe juice, anglica dahurica powder, soybean protein, euphorbia lathryris, butanediol, tri-thyglycine by weight parts. The formulation was very useful for moisturizing and nourishing skin around the eyes. Besides, it was also quite useful for the treatment of dark circles around eyes, and the repar of the elasticity of skin around eyes.

Li and Peng developed a super elastic moisturizing face mask essence with compositions of WSK Tremella fuciformis extract, hydrolyzed soy protein, allantoin, EDTA-disodium, glycerol, betaine, propanediol, carbopol, triethanolamine, flavour and antiseptic by weights percents, and water as balance. Tremella fuciformis extracts and hyaluronic acid continuosly ensured the release of moisturizing factor, and lock moisture and vitamin E. This mechanism leads to skin nourishment and moisturization, and therefore increasing skin activity along with the enchancement of skin barrier to obtain ideal moisture state.

Edible bird nest is very useful to people with poor digestion, recovering from illness, and children with weak appetite. It is an easily digestible food and delivers essential nutrients into the body and therefore, brings health to those who are weak. Good quality edible bird nest, like the ones supplied by the Premium Nest Australia, consumption is beneficent for the restoration of lung functions and in people with dry cough and periodic sputum stains, e.g., in heavy smokers. High quality genuine bird nest is very beneficial to pregnant women before and after child birth. Pregnant women who consume edible bird nest recover faster after delivery of healthy and fair skinned babies, and experience considerably lesser hair loss. For post-pregnancy health of women, the supplementary of bird nest soup or drinks provide more energy, better sleep, and give the feeling of vitality to the mothers.

Nephiritis is a painful disorder characterized by the inflammation of kidneys. Glomeruli, tubules and even interstitial tissues surrounding the glomeruli and tubules are jointly involved in this complication. Nephritis is basically caused by infections, some toxins and auto-immune disorders. It is a serious medical condition and represents the eighth highest cause of death in human beings.

Experts formulated a Chinese medicine to treat nephiritis with edible bird nest as one of the ingredients. The formulation was prepared by slicing Panax quinquefolium, soaking the bird nest with water, adding chicken soup and smashing rock sugars in it. Finally, all the contents were decocted for 2 hours. The preparation was highly useful in providing therapeutic relief to nephritic patients.

In conclusion, it can be said that high quality edible bird nest is a versatile food with a range of beneficial health effects. Several cosmetical products using ISLAND NEST as one of the ingredients have already hit the market with great responses. However, its investigations for the treatment of diseases are still in early stages. Therefore, more research is needed to fully explore its potential as a product of breakthrough for its medicinal properties.