N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Sialic Acid 131-48-6

N-acetylneuraminic acid (Salic acid)is a negatively charged ion that can make saliva feel smooth. Its chemical formula is C11H19NO9. Its properties are mainly composed of glycoproteins, glycolipids, or bacterial capsular substances in animal cell membranes or secretions. Sialic acid (N-acylneuraminic acid) is the most widely distributed in nature, mainly composed of glycoproteins, glycolipids, or bacterial capsular substances in animal cell membranes or secretions.

Humans have a long history of eating foods containing sialic acid. The main source of sialic acid is breast milk, dairy products and egg foods, so it can be said that we have been eating sialic acid since the moment humans appeared on the earth. In bird's nest, its main biological activity-"bird's nest acid", is actually the common name of sialic acid, and the content is as high as 10%. The main function of bird's nest is embodied by sialic acid. Experiments have also proved that the physiological functions of bird's nest acid include: antibacterial and detoxification effects in the intestine; it can improve the absorption capacity of vitamins and minerals in the intestine; because of its protective and stabilizing effects on cells, it has the effect of prolonging life.

Function of N-acetylneuraminic acid

N-acetylneuraminic acid has been proven to have numerous biological functions, including regulation of blood protein half-life, resistance to various toxins, cell adhesion, glycoprotein cleavage protection, antioxidant properties, promotion of brain development, and prodrugs.

1. Promote brain development

N-acetylneuraminic acid plays a role in mediating gangliosides in the brain. Sialic acid can change the behavior of rats and improve their memory. By comparison between breast-fed and powder-fed infants, the concentration of ganglioside protein and N-acetylneuraminic acid in frontal cortex gray matter were 32% and 22%, respectively, indicating that N-acetylneuraminic acid can increase Synapses form and promote neurodevelopment. Another interesting experiment is to supplement N-acetylneuraminic acid in early piglets to study the learning and memory performance of piglets. In the early development process, the learning ability and memory ability of feeding N-acetylneuraminic acid were enhanced compared with the control group. Studies have shown that the golden period of human brain development is from pregnancy to 2 years old. This stage is a critical period for the adjustment of the number of brain cells, the increase in size, the perfect function, and the formation of the neural network. Therefore, adequate intake of N-acetylneuraminic acid during pregnancy is very important for fetal development. After the baby is born, breast milk is an effective way to supplement N-acetylneuraminic acid, because breast milk contains a large amount of N-acetylneuraminic acid (0.3-1.5mg/ml). However, the liver development of newborns is not yet mature, coupled with the need for rapid growth and development of the brain, it may be that the synthesis of N-acetylneuraminic acid by itself is very limited, especially for premature babies. Therefore, on the one hand, the N-acetylneuraminic acid in breast milk is essential to ensure the normal growth and development of infants. On the other hand, if sufficient N-acetylneuraminic acid is added to the infant milk powder, it will also be important for the infant’s intellectual development. influences.

2. Antioxidant

N-acetylneuraminic acid can consume toxic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Japanese scholars observed the toxicity of H2O2 to cells in a medium supplemented with N-acetylneuraminic acid, and confirmed that N-acetylneuraminic acid can inhibit cell death caused by H2O2. These results indicate that N-acetylneuraminic acid can be used as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species.

3. Anti-infection

There are many medical studies related to N-acetylneuraminic acid, which are widely used in the field of pharmaceutical intermediates and have a certain scale of market. Internationally, the market for prodrugs with a relatively large volume is the anti-influenza drug Zanamivir (Zanamivir). The drug is an effective inhibitor of influenza virus, by inhibiting the neuraminidase of influenza virus, thereby changing the aggregation and release of influenza virus in infected cells, and is used to treat the epidemic caused by influenza A (A) virus. cold. The synthesis process is through modification of N-acetylneuraminic acid monomer.

In addition, studies have found that in addition to zanamivir and GM-1 (monosialotetrahexosylganglioside), N-acetylneuraminic acid is also used as a tumor diagnostic agent as a diagnosis of early cancer occurrence and metastasis.