Cannulation procedures have shown that alpha-amylase is produced primarily by the parotid gland, whereas lysozyme is produced mainly by the submandibular and sublingual glands. In this study, the ratio of lysozyme to alpha-amylase was determined in whole human saliva following challenge with various gustatory and mechanical stimuli. Comparison of this ratio with the immediately preceding "basel...

Saliva was found to be a powerful and specific inhibitor of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Although 28 other species of bacteria were tested, including Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria pharyngis var flava, Neisseria lactamica, and Neisseria catarrhalis, we failed to find any others sensitive to saliva under similar conditions. The physical properties of the inhibitory substance indicated that it might...

The aim of this study was to investigate the radioprotective effect of thymol as a natural product against salivary glands dysfunction induced by ionizing radiation in rats. The rats were treated with thymol at dose of 50 mg/Kg before exposure to radiation at dose 15Gy. Salivary gland function was evaluated with radioisotope scintigraphy and then salivary gland to background counts ratio was ca...

BACKGROUND Body mass index (BMI) and mental stress seem to exert part of their cardiovascular risk by eliciting inflammation. However, the adverse effects of stress on inflammatory activity with BMI are not fully understood. We investigated whether higher BMI is associated with reduced glucocorticoid inhibition of inflammatory cytokine production following stress in men while controlling for ag...

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of alpha- and beta-adrenergic agonists on secretion of epidermal growth factor (EGF) from the rat submandibular glands and to test the possibility of intestinal absorption of EGF. Alpha-adrenergic agonists increased the concentration of salivary EGF by approximately a hundred times, while the serum concentration of EGF was unchanged. Th...