Using Amino Acids Composition Combined with Principle Component Analysisto Differentiate House and Cave Bird’s Nests

The amino acid compositions of house and cave bird’s nest were determined. Seventeen amino acids were identified, and hydroxyproline was not found. Principle component analysis (PCA) was applied to differentiate the birds’ nests according to their origin and to assess the correlations between the bird’s nest and their amino acid compositions. Studies on the score and loading plots indicated that cave bird’s nest had the greatest concentrations ofarginine, serine, threonine, alanine, isoleucine, proline, leucine and aspartic acid. Thehouse bird’s nest had the greatest concentrations of phenylalanine, glycine, tyrosine, methionine, lysine and valine. The bird’s nest was also differentiated from other constituents such as gelatins and egg. This study indicated that the application of PCA was useful in differentiating bird’s nest from other animal sources withsimilar amino