Combined enzymatic hydrolysis and herbal extracts fortification to boost in vitro antioxidant activity of edible bird's nest solution

Pei Ling Tang; Hooi Shin Goh; Swee Seng Sia

doi:10.1016/j.chmed.2021.10.005

Combined enzymatic hydrolysis and herbal extracts fortification to boost in vitro antioxidant activity of edible bird's nest solution

Chin Herb Med. 2021 Oct 7;13(4):549-555. doi: 10.1016/j.chmed.2021.10.005. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Authors

Pei Ling Tang¹, Hooi Shin Goh¹, Swee Seng Sia²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioscience, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Setapak, 53300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
² Nestlin Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., 3A, Jalan Payamas, Taman Industri Payamas, Tangkak 84900, Johor, Malaysia.

Abstract

Objective: Edible bird's nest (EBN) is a popular traditional tonic food in Chinese population for centuries. Malaysia is one of the main EBN suppliers in the world. This study aims to explore the best strategy to boost the antioxidant potential of EBN solution.

Methods: In this study, the raw EBN (4%, mass to volume ratio) was initially enzymatic hydrolyzed using papain enzyme to produce EBN hydrolysate (EBNH), then spray-dried into powdered form. Next, 4% (mass to volume ratio) of EBNH powder was dissolved in ginger extract (GE), mulberry leaf extract (MLE) and cinnamon twig extract (CTE) to detect the changes of antioxidant activities, respectively.

Results: Results obtained suggest that enzymatic hydrolysis significantly reduced the viscosity of 4% EBN solution from (68.12 ± 0.69) mPa·s to (7.84 ± 0.31) mPa·s. Besides, the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total soluble protein, DPPH scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were substantially increased following EBN hydrolysis using papain enzyme. In addition, fortification with GE, MLE and CTE had further improved the TPC, TFC, DPPH scavenging activity and FRAP of the EBNH solution. Among the samples, MLE-EBNH solution showed the most superior antioxidant potential at (86.39 ± 1.66)% of DPPH scavenging activity and (19.79 ± 2.96) mmol/L FeSO₄ of FRAP.

Conclusion: This study proved that combined enzymatic hydrolysis and MLE fortification is the best strategy to produce EBN product with prominent in vitro antioxidant potential. This preliminary study provides new insight into the compatibility of EBN with different herbal extracts for future health food production.

Keywords: antioxidant; cinnamon twig; edible bird’s nest; enzymatic hydrolysis; ginger; mulberry leaves.