Nitration of tyrosine in the mucin glycoprotein of edible bird's nest changes its color from white to red

• Main Authors: Shim, Eric Kian-Shiun, Lee, Soo-Ying
• Other Authors: School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Science::Chemistry; Red Edible Bird’s Nest; Mucin Glycoprotein
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142603
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The edible bird's nest (EBN) of the swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus, a mucin glycoprotein, is usually white in color, but there also exist the more desirable red or "blood" EBN. The basis of the red color has been a puzzle for a long time. Here, we show that the nitration of the tyrosy...