Periodate oxidation of terminal N-acetyl- and N-glycoloylneuraminic acid residues in the mucins from edible bird nest substance and pig submandibular gland, respectively, can be carried out under conditions which exclusively give rise to the formation of the C-7 analogues of these sialic acids. In contrast, the C-8 compounds can be obtained in a maximum yield of about 40%. Under identical conditions, N-glycoloylneuraminic acid is oxidized about 1.5 times faster than the N-acetylated derivative. After release of the sialic acids by acid hydrolysis, the characterization of the oxidation products was carried out by TLC, by GLC and GLC-MS of the corresponding pertrimethylsilyl derivatives, and by 500-MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy. In addition, molar response factors for GLC analysis and extinction coefficients in the orcinol/Fe3+/HCl assay were determined.