Amino acid determination by HPLC combined with multivariate approach for geographical classification of Malaysian Edible Bird’s Nest

•18 amino acids were successfully quantified in Edible Bird’s Nest (EBN).•EBN from West and East Malaysia could be classified based on amino acid contents.•Multivariate analysis showed excellent classification and prediction ability.•The classification accuracy of the proposed models was 100 %.•4 amino acids were assessed as potential markers between West and East Malaysia.