An Antibacterial Effect of Saliva Demonstrated with use of Paper Electrophoresis ‡

Various antibacterial factors in saliva have been demonstrated 2,1"2 la but none seem to have been isolated. A "lytic" agent in saliva and a purified lysozyme from eggwhite seem similar in their effect on Micrococcus Iysodeikticus,"9"' although the two have been shown to be immunologically distinct.10 Inasmuch as separation of protein elements in saliva, by means of paper electrophoresis, has been reported,6 it appeared possible to determine if any of the salivary protein fractions displayed an antibacterial effect. In this note, after electrophoresis of whole human saliva, the filter paper strips were placed on top of cultures of M. lysodeikticus to observe whether or not the antibacterial effect would correspond to the location of any protein elements in saliva.