What is sialic acid used for?
What Is Sialic Acid?
Sialic acid (SA) is the general name for nine-carbon sugar neuraminic acid acylation. It was first extracted and separated from salivary gland mucin by Swedish biochemists, and was named sialic acid. Sialic acid is widely present in various biological tissues and is an important component of glycoproteins, oligosaccharides and glycolipids. It usually exists in the form of glycosides at the ends of glycoproteins and glycolipids, especially in the brain, nerve tissue, blood, submandibular glands, mucins, and colostrum of mammals. But sometimes, free sialic acid can also be found in serum, body fluids and urine. The main food source of sialic acid is breast milk, especially colostrum, where the content is high. Sialic acid is also present in milk, milk powder and eggs. At the same time, bird's nest is also known for its high content (5.3%-11.5%) of sialic acid.
Sialic acid is an important component of brain gangliosides and has the function of "inducing" and preventing the invasion of pathogens.
What Are The Functions Of Sialic Acid?
1.Promote brain development and improve cognitive ability
Sialic acid is an important component of brain gangliosides and can enhance infants' learning and memory abilities. Studies have found that increasing the sialic acid content in the diet during lactation will increase the sialic acid content in the infant's brain and the expression level of genes related to learning. In addition, sialic acid can also promote the development of memory and intelligence. Animal experiments have found that in the absence of sialic acid and low sialic acid content, the learning and memory abilities of experimental animals are greatly reduced.
2.Improve immunity
Sialic acid can improve human immunity. In the digestive system, sialic acid will not be degraded by digestive enzymes, and can enter the intestine to prevent pathogenic microorganisms from adsorbing to intestinal cells, playing a role in resisting a variety of pathogens. In addition, sialic acid can also improve the intestinal absorption of vitamins and minerals.
3.Antibacterial
The special structure of sialic acid molecules prevents the polypeptide complexes formed by them from being degraded by enzymes in the digestive tract when passing through the digestive system, and then enters the intestine. Therefore, adding sialic acid to food can improve the antibacterial, detoxification and antiviral abilities of the intestine.
4.Inhibit leukocyte adhesion and reduce inflammation
Sialic acid can inhibit leukocyte adhesion and reduce inflammation, which is very important for the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects when tissues are inflamed or damaged. The aggregation of leukocytes is related to the cell adhesion process, and the cell adhesion process is related to the E-selectin of epidermal cells containing sialic acid tetrasaccharide on the surface of leukocytes.
5.Protect nerve cells and prevent Alzheimer's disease
Sialic acid has a protective and stabilizing effect on nerve cells. The sialic acid content in the blood or brain of some patients with neurological diseases will decrease. After recovery from drug treatment, the sialic acid content returns to normal, which shows that sialic acid is involved in the metabolic process of nerve cells.
What Is The Application Of Sialic Acid?
Food Industry: Sialic acid is mainly used as a food additive in the food industry to improve the texture and taste of food, and is used as a thickener, emulsifier and stabilizer. The specific usage and dosage need to be determined according to the type of food and the processing method, and relevant food safety regulations need to be observed.
Pharmaceutical Industry: Sialic acid plays an important role in the medical field. It can promote brain development, improve human immunity, beautify the skin, and fight viruses. In addition, sialic acid also has a similar anti-inflammatory function to aspirin, and is effective for central or external neurological diseases and demyelinating diseases. It can also be used as a drug sustained-release agent and modifier for the treatment of colds, tumors, neurological diseases, etc., and can be used as a pharmaceutical intermediate to provide raw materials for the development of important sugar drugs, such as antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Health Products Industry: Sialic acid is also used in the health products industry. As a natural brain nutrient, it is suitable for use as an ingredient in baby food and a nutritional supplement, which can promote the memory and intellectual development of infants.
Textile Industry: In the textile industry, sialic acid may be used in the production or processing of fibers. Although the specific use is not detailed, it shows that sialic acid is widely used in many fields.
Cosmetics: Sialic acid has a protective and stabilizing effect on cells, affecting the life span of blood cells and the number and activity of enzyme proteins in metabolism, delaying cell aging. Sialic acid is a good product for beauty and nourishment, making the skin smooth and shiny, and effectively anti-aging. Studies have shown that bird's nest sialic acid can effectively inhibit the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopa hydroxylase, preventing the production of melanin.