Sialic Acid Application

1. Application of sialic acid in infant formula milk powder
Cerebral sialic acid plays an important role in improving learning ability. Studies have shown that breastfed infants receive high amounts of sialic acid from breast milk, which may promote sialylation of gangliosides and glycoproteins in body fluids, tissues and glycosomes, further demonstrating that breast-feeding is superior to formula feeding for nervous system and intellectual development of infants.

2. Application of sialic acid in the field of medicine
Sialic acid and its derivatives play an important role in inhibiting sialase and anti-influenza virus, anti-rotavirus, anti-adenovirus, anti-respiratory syncytial virus, anti-parainfluenza virus, etc. N-acetylneuramic acid (a type of sialic acid) plays an important role in the release of newly replicated virions from infected host cells. By inhibiting n-acetylneuraminic acid, the virus can be interfered with and prevented from replicating, thus achieving the goal of treating influenza. At present, the study of NA inhibitors using sialic acid as the parent compound has become a hot spot in the research of anti-influenza drugs. Two drugs with good therapeutic effect, zanamivir (trade name Relenza) and oseltamivir (trade name Tamiflu), have been marketed.