Can bottled Blood Bird Nest provide any beauty benefits?

How many of you are turned off by the thought of eating Blood Bird Nest? NO…you gotta be kidding me! Because I absolutely love them in spite of their unsavory origins. My mom used to prepare them quite regularly for me when I was growing up and naturally, I was influenced by her belief in their health and beauty benefits. Come to think of it, I really miss the taste of her double-boiled Blood Bird Nest with ginseng slices and egg. *SLURPS*

Made from bird’s saliva

For those who don’t know, Blood Bird Nest is the nest made purely of swiftlet’s saliva secretion. This nest is usually found in caves near shoreline cliffs or under eaves of house and is hand-collected. Hairs and filth are then removed from the nest before manufacturing.

Can bottled Blood Bird Nest provide any beauty benefits?

Health benefits

Before you say “Eeeewk” to its origins, you may want to know that Blood Bird Nest is widely acknowledged to have health benefits amongst Chinese. Smokers and those prone to respiratory problems, coughs and colds can benefit from regular consumption of this food because it helps cleanse lungs and regulates the respiratory system. The food also helps to stimulate appetite, aid digestion and provides a unique pre-digested form of protein and nutrients to speed up recovery from chronic illnesses.

Beauty benefits

Because Blood Bird Nest provides a “cooling and nurturing” effect, it supposedly prevents internal dryness and helps to maintain youthful skin as well as a smooth and wrinkle-free complexion. According to a medical research reported by Hong Kong Chinese University, the cell division enzyme and hormone of Blood Bird Nest can promote reproduction and rebirth of human cells.
Frequent consumption result in fairer and radiant skin. Fann Wong, who has fair porcelain skin, is apparently a huge consumer of such a delicacy although I can’t vouch that her clear complexion is a direct result of her Blood Bird Nest diet.

Bottles for convenience

I remember my mom used to buy the Blood Bird Nest from the medical halls. They came in different grades at different prices. But in recent years, this delicacy is sold in bottles for easy consumption. I tried a few of them in the past but I don’t like them much. It could be psychological but I somehow perceive them to be of a lower quality.

Claims of beautifying skin

So I was a bit lukewarm when I received Company’s Blood Bird Nest with Rock Sugar, positioned as a beauty food that can help maintain youthful skin as well as a smooth and wrinkle-free complexion. I was skeptical about its claims and taste even though it is said to be made of premium quality Blood Bird Nest and is all-natural with no preservatives or artificial flavoring.

A tad too sweet

To be fair, it isn’t awful and I could taste bits of the Blood Bird Nest. I’m just reminded of those bowls of Blood Bird Nest in Bangkok going for 100 or 200 baht that I used to eat for desserts. But Company’s could cut down on the amount of rock sugar in each bottle because it is rather sweet. Afterall, it is positioned as a health and beauty product.

Seaweed as stabilizer

According to Company’s , their Blood Bird Nests are harvested from Indonesia and Thailand. They are then soaked and cleaned before being boiled with rock sugar solution under a specially developed hygienic process that seals in the flavor and goodness. While no preservative is used, Company’s Blood Bird Nest uses a natural form of seaweed as its stabilizer.

Little known benefits

Well, these came complimentary to me and so I won’t complain too much. But I won’t fork out S$49.90 to pay for six bottles with bits of Blood Bird Nest because I don’t know how much benefits I can derive from paying that amount. I ran a quick search on the topic and don’t see much testimonies on bottled Blood Bird Nest and even the few I came across were referring to concentrated Blood Bird Nest.

Blood Bird Nest: Production, Health & Product Quality

Blood Bird Nest: Production, health and product quality

Center of Excellence on Swiftlets

FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

Synopsis:

The Blood Bird Nest industry in Malaysia is rapidly growing due to the demand for EBNs nests world-wide. The Aerodramus fuciphagus species that is found only in the South East Asian region is the main target for the industry. There are limited scientific publications on the Blood Bird Nest in Malaysia such as their genetics and subspecies delineations, various aspects of quality control, variability of diet of this special species, health status and susceptibility to important avian viruses and other important aspects.
Ongoing research in various areas will benefit the industry and economic importance for Malaysia. Many issues related to the industry and government has been addressed especially on the export of the raw nests, product quality, nitrite issues and market surveys by this group and research collaborators from University National Malaysia, University Malaysia Perlis, SIRIM, University Malaysia Kelantan and University Science Malaysia. Therefore, with regards on the above issues and current and future challanges, UPM has been elected as the Center of Excellence on Swiftlet in 2011 by Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Based Industry.

Keywords:

Blood Bird Nest, health, quality control

Information on Key Researchers:

Professor Datin Paduka Dr Aini Ideris Professor (Leader)
- Avian Medicine Veterinary Clinical Studies (UPM)
Prof Dr Tengku Azmi bin Tengku Ibrahim Professor Dr. Saleha Abdul Aziz - Veterinary Public Health(UPM)
Professor Dr. Jothi Malar Pandandam - Genetic& Breeding Animal Science
Professor Dr. Idris Abd. Ghani
Professor Dr. Abd Salam Babji/ (Nazaruddin Ramli)
Professor Dr. Azhar Kasim - Nutrition Animal Science (Animal Nutrition)
Professor Dr. Rehana Abdullah Sani
Professor Dr. Abdul Rahman Omar
Professor Dr. Shahwahid
Associate Professor Dr Zunita Zakaria
Associate Professor Dr. Jalila Abu - Health and disease Veterinary Clinical Studies (Avian Medicine)
Associate Professor Dr. Hafidzi Mohd Noor - Ecology & Behaviour Plant Protection (Zoology)
Associate Professor Dr Zainab bt Hamzah
Associate Professor Dr Lim Yang Mooi
Dr Hafidzi Mohd Noor
Dr Rashid
Dr Syed Abdul Rahman Al-Haddad Syed Mohamed
Dr Christopher Lim Thiam Seong
Dr Saiful Nizam Tajuddin
Dr Megat Al Imran Bin Yasin
Dr. Lee Ting Hun
Mdm Azizon bt Abdullah
S. Thavamanithevi
Sarifah Rejab

Research Highlights:

Top down research grant from Ministry of Agricultural and Agro Based Industry. Elected UPM as the Centre of Excellence on Swiftlet in 2011.
Research group members headed by section head. In each group, a number of researchers that already well known in their field of research and as expert consultants to government agencies, such as Department of Veterinary Services, Malaysian Department of Plant Protections and Ministry of Health and as well as animal industries. Very strong group of research collaborators all over Malaysia involve in this program with their own niche of experts and disciplines.
Research laboratories of various disciplines which involve in all research areas are available which include the Department of Veterinary Services, Faculty of Agriculture UPM (Department of Animal Science, Department of Plant Protection) and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Bacteriology and Virology Laboratories).
The networking and linkages include having very strong relationship with Malaysian together with the supports from Department of Veterinary Services to support industry needs and outline of research programs.

Current Projects:

Total budget received: Three Million
Swiftlets Wave Sound Detection, Recognition and Synthesis through Spectrogram Processing.
Interaksi fenologi pokok, kepelbagaian serangga dan burung walit. Effective & Sustainable Ranching: Study on Chemical Interaction Between Floral Scent and Blood Bird Nest Attraction.
Health And Disease Surveillance On Edible-Nest Swiftlets Aerodermus Spesies.
Faktor-faktor Yang Mempengaruhi Kualiti Tinja Burung Walit Di Malaysia Dan Potensi Penggunannya Untuk Penjanaan Ekonomi.
Evaluation of antiviral properties of Blood Bird Nest extract against influenze A virus (IAV) infection.
Medicinal Properties, Nutritional Values and Safety Profiles of Blood Bird Nest.
The development of Blood Bird Nest downstream products
Optimizing Feeds and Feeding for Edible-Nest Swiftlets.
The Digestive System Of The Swiftlets - An Ultrastructural Study
Penyelidikan dan Penerbitan Dokumentari Burung Walit Ke Persada Dunia
Quality Assessment using Sensor Technology from UniMAP
Compositional Variations of Nitrites, Nutritional, Mineral and Heavy Metal in Raw-clean Blood Bird Nest : Method Validation
A study on Blood Bird Nest: Immunomodulation, neuronal differentiation of Mesencymal stem cell and neuronal regeneration capability
Development of Quality Index for Blood Bird Nest After Cleaning and Processing
The potential of Blood Bird Nest Extract as Anti-Cancer Agent and Immunoadjuvant on Human Breast Cancer
Isolation and Identification of Bacteria from Swiflets and Blood Bird Nest and the Anti-bacterial Properties of Blood Bird Nest
Parasites of Aerodramus fuciphagus in Perak, Malaysia
Development of multiplex Taqman real-time polymerase chain reaction method for rapid and sensitive authentication of Blood Bird Nest
Economic analysis of Blood Bird Nest industry of Malaysia

Completed Projects:

Dr Hafidzi Mohd Noor -
Geographic distribution and ecological roles of distinct subpopulations of Aerodramus fuciphagus in Malaysia. (09/11 - 09/13)
Dr Rashid MARDI -
The study on Marketing and Competitiveness of Malaysian Swiftlet Industry (04/12 - 10/13)
Prof. Dr. Saleha Abdul Aziz UPM -
Evaluation of the Quality of Blood Bird Nests Produced in Malaysia (09/11 - 09/13)
S. Thavamanithevi SIRIM -
Characterization and Standardization of Blood Bird Nest - Determination of Sialic Acid (05/11 - 12/13)
Prof Dr Jothi Malar Panandam UPM -
Genetic Characterisation of the Malaysian Blood Bird Nests (08/11 - 07/13)

Recent Publications:

Blood Bird Nest Industry Conference 2012 (November 2012):Poster Abstract
1. Chow G .H., Jalila A., Arshad S.S., Tan S. W., Siti Khatijah M., & Ong K. W. Detection Of Newcastle Disease Virus In Edible-Nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus Fuciphagus) Ranched Under An Oil Palm Plantation In Sungkai, Perak, Malaysia
2. Fhaisol M.A., Intan-Shameha A.R., Zuki, A.B.Z., and Azhar K. Gross Morphology Of The Intestine Of Edible Bird's-Nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus Fuciphagus) And House Swift (Apus Nipalensis).
3. Derwin M.D.S.A., Arshad S.S., Mehrbod P., Kamaruddin A.I., Bande F., Jalila A. and Fadzilah-A'ini A.K. A Preliminary Study On In Vitro Evaluation Of ANTIVIRAL PROPERTIES OF BLOOD BIRD NEST EXTRACT AGAINST ANIMAL CORONAVIRUS