“燕窝汤”是以食用燕窝（英文称之为EBN或Edible Bird’s Nest）为原料制成的一种奢侈或滋补食品，是一种极有营养并且能改善健康的药物。由于其营养丰富而闻名，EBN自古以来就被亚洲皇室用作美食和药物。三十年前，利用现代科学技术证明了EBN的有益特性，揭示了EBN的多种药理活性，包括抗氧化作用、抗炎作用、抗流感作用和皮肤美白作用，以及促进角膜伤口愈合，改善干细胞增殖，改善阿尔茨海默氏症或帕金森氏症的记忆和神经保护，增强表皮生长，改善骨质疏松症，抗肥胖作用，预防心脏代谢和糖尿病疾病。 皮肤是抵御外界伤害的主要屏障；然而，诸如紫外线、伤口或炎症诱导物等外部因素会损害皮肤，导致皮肤干燥、色素沉着、表皮增厚和起皱，延缓皮肤健康的恢复。紫外线是破坏皮肤的主要因素，紫外线B（UVB）能到达皮肤成纤维细胞所在的真皮层，引起严重的细胞氧化应激。

EBN通过调节基质金属蛋白酶-1/Ⅰ型前胶原的表达，具有减轻紫外线B诱导的皮肤损伤的能力。EBN阻断了肿瘤坏死因子-α/干扰素-γ诱导的炎性角质形成细胞（HaCaTs）中胸腺和活化调节的趋化因子/CCL-17和巨噬细胞衍生的趋化因子/CCL22的过度表达。研究中最重要的作用之一是，通过促进透明质酸的诱导，EBN治疗可显著支持伤口愈合过程。因此，EBN是一种很有价值的产品，代表了皮肤病治疗的补充和替代药物。

（原文摘自Pharmacogn）

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The “bird’s nest soup” is a kind of luxury or tonic food prepared from edible bird’s nest (EBN), which is used as an extremely nutritious medicine to improve health. Because it is well‑known to be rich in nutrients, EBN has been used both as a delicacy and a pharmaceutical only by Asian royalty since the ancient times. Three decades ago, the beneficial properties of EBN were proven using modern scientific techniques, which revealed its various pharmacological activities, including antioxidative effects, anti‑inflammatory effects, anti‑influenza effects and skin whitening effects, along with promotion of corneal wound healing, improvement of stem cell proliferation, memory improvement and neuroprotection in Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease, epidermal growth enhancement, osteoporosis‑improving, anti-obesity effects, and prevention of cardiometabolic and diabetic diseases.

Skin is the primary barrier against external damage; however, extrinsic factors such as UV lights, wounds, or inflammatory inducers can damage the skin leading to dryness, pigmentation, epidermal thickening and wrinkling with delayed recovery of skin health. UV is the major factor that destroys skin and ultraviolet B (UVB) can reach the dermis layer of skin where fibroblasts are located and cause serious cellular oxidative stress.

EBN possesses the ability to alleviate ultraviolet B‑induced skin damage through regulation of matrix metalloproteinase‑1/procollagen type I expression. EBN blocked the overexpression of thymus‑and activation‑regulated chemokine/CCL‑17 and macrophage‑derived chemokine/CCL22 in tumor necrosis factor alpha/interferon gamma‑induced inflammatory keratinocytes (HaCaTs). One of the most important effects investigated was that the wound‑healing process could be significantly supported by treatment with EBN by promoting hyaluronan induction. EBN is thus a valuable product that represents a complementary and alternative medicine for skin disease treatment.

(Original article extracted from Pharmacogn)