Abstract
This study investigated salivary cholesterol of children from 6 to 16 years of age in response to dietary intervention. One thousand sixty-two infants started in the prospective, randomized project. At 3 years of age, every fifth child was invited into the study (n = 178). Of these, 148 enrolled, and 86 completed the oral sub-study at 16 years of age. The intervention aimed at restricting the child’s saturated fat and cholesterol intake. Control children received no special recommendations. Every third year, paraffin-stimulated saliva samples (10.0 mL) were collected for cholesterol assays. Nutrient intakes and serum total cholesterol concentrations were regularly followed up by means of 4-day food records and blood samples. Intake of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) was lower in the intervention than in the control group (p < 0.001). Salivary cholesterol concentration increased from 1.9 (± 1.1) μmol/L at 6 years of age to 16.0 (± 9.0) μmol/L at 16 years of age. The increase was smaller in the intervention than in the control group (p < 0.001). The ratios of salivary to serum cholesterol concentrations tended to be higher in boys than in girls (p = 0.07). Thus, dietary intervention was reflected in children’s salivary cholesterol values more sensitively than in serum cholesterol values. (clinicaltrials.gov NCT00223600).
The Science Behind Why We Love Ice Cream
Why people prefer certain foods over others depends largely on a combination of taste and texture. While taste sensations are fairly well understood, scientists are just beginning to unravel the mystery of food texture.
Now, researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia have found that an enzyme in saliva called amylase, which breaks down starch into liquid, could play a key role in determining the appeal of various textures of food. A new genetic study shows that people produce strikingly different amounts of amylase, and that the more of the enzyme people have in their mouth the faster they can liquefy starchy foods.
Scientists think this finding could help explain why people experience foods as creamy or slimy, sticky or watery, and that this perception could affect our preference for foods. For the numerous foods that contain starch, including pudding, sauces and even maple syrup, what can feel just right to some people is experienced as too runny or not melting enough for others because they produce different amounts of the enzyme.
The ability to quickly break down starch, which is a type of carbohydrate, is only one part of the puzzle that determines what people like to eat. Taste preferences are driven by a complicated interaction between taste buds and other receptors in the mouth and nose, and the messages they send to the brain. Culture plays a role, as people tend to like foods that are familiar, says Rick Mattes, a foods and nutrition professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. And repetition sometimes can win out: Many people initially don't like oysters because of their slimy texture, for instance, but can come to enjoy them after several tries.
"We all have had the experience of liking a food that someone else complains is too tacky, or slippery, or gritty, or pulpy," says Paul Breslin, a researcher at the Monell center and a professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. "This is why a given line of product often comes in different textural forms," such as orange juice with and without pulp, he says.
Starch comprises or is added to about 60% of the foods people typically eat, so determining how it is digested is key to understanding food-texture preferences, Monell center scientists say. Other research has shown that people have a preference for creamy sensations as well as for foods that start off solid and melt in the mouth such as ice cream and chocolate, says Dr. Breslin, who began the current research because of his interest in creaminess. Amylase also could help explain individual preferences for different brands of ice cream or yogurt, for instance, because they contain different amounts of added starch.
In their recent work, Monell researchers had 73 adults swirl around in their mouths solutions made up of different concentrations of starch—blobs of translucent gelatinous substances with no particular taste—and rate their runniness over the course of 60 seconds. Depending on the amount of amylase individuals produced, the starch could be reduced to liquid within seconds.
The researchers also took DNA samples of the participants from a blood sample or cheek swab and studied the link between the numbers of copies of a gene that turns on the production of amylase and how quickly the participant reported the sample turned runny. The findings showed that the number of copies of the gene, called AMY1, varied widely between individuals. People with higher numbers of gene copies reported that the starch turned to liquid more quickly. The study was published last month in PLoS ONE, a journal of the Public Library of Science.
The Monell researchers are now investigating whether people with more AMY1 copies see larger spikes in blood glucose after eating. They also plan to study the link between greater amylase production and food preferences, hypothesizing that people who make more of the enzyme will prefer starchy products because they get a faster blast of glucose into their bloodstream.
The role of amylase and the rate of starch breakdown also has implications for diabetes. People who digest starch quickly could be more likely to have larger spikes in blood-sugar levels and thus a need for the body to generate more insulin. This continued demand on the body might lead these people to become insulin resistant or even diabetic if the body's ability to produce insulin breaks down, says Abigail Mandel, Dr. Breslin's colleague at Monell and first author on the study.
Amylase and other enzymes in saliva could also help explain food-texture preferences that are known to vary with age, Dr. Breslin says. For instance, many young children dislike certain fruits because of a perceived sliminess—think of the inside of a tomato. But people's saliva-flow rate tends to slow with age, which might affect their ability to break down starch in the mouth and reduce sensations of sliminess.
Another factor in food preferences: People vary—probably based on genetics—in their ability to detect other textures, such as fat, and bitter and sweet tastes. Valerie Duffy, a registered dietitian and professor in the department of allied health science at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn., has shown in her research that adults with a gene that makes bitter tastes more intense consume fewer vegetables containing bitter compounds, such as kale or spinach.
But that genetic preference can be changed by repeatedly exposing the individual to the taste or by masking the bitterness, even at an early age, she has found. In a preliminary study with preschoolers, Dr. Duffy's group added a sweet taste to balance out the bitterness of certain vegetables—less than half a teaspoon of sugar to a cup of broccoli or asparagus, for example, during cooking—and found that the children were more accepting of the greens. Even when the sweetness was removed, the children still liked the vegetables more than before because they had developed a positive association with them, she says. "It suggests that people should focus on what they like to eat and make it work for them," Dr. Duffy says.
Now, researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia have found that an enzyme in saliva called amylase, which breaks down starch into liquid, could play a key role in determining the appeal of various textures of food. A new genetic study shows that people produce strikingly different amounts of amylase, and that the more of the enzyme people have in their mouth the faster they can liquefy starchy foods.
Scientists think this finding could help explain why people experience foods as creamy or slimy, sticky or watery, and that this perception could affect our preference for foods. For the numerous foods that contain starch, including pudding, sauces and even maple syrup, what can feel just right to some people is experienced as too runny or not melting enough for others because they produce different amounts of the enzyme.
The ability to quickly break down starch, which is a type of carbohydrate, is only one part of the puzzle that determines what people like to eat. Taste preferences are driven by a complicated interaction between taste buds and other receptors in the mouth and nose, and the messages they send to the brain. Culture plays a role, as people tend to like foods that are familiar, says Rick Mattes, a foods and nutrition professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. And repetition sometimes can win out: Many people initially don't like oysters because of their slimy texture, for instance, but can come to enjoy them after several tries.
"We all have had the experience of liking a food that someone else complains is too tacky, or slippery, or gritty, or pulpy," says Paul Breslin, a researcher at the Monell center and a professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. "This is why a given line of product often comes in different textural forms," such as orange juice with and without pulp, he says.
Starch comprises or is added to about 60% of the foods people typically eat, so determining how it is digested is key to understanding food-texture preferences, Monell center scientists say. Other research has shown that people have a preference for creamy sensations as well as for foods that start off solid and melt in the mouth such as ice cream and chocolate, says Dr. Breslin, who began the current research because of his interest in creaminess. Amylase also could help explain individual preferences for different brands of ice cream or yogurt, for instance, because they contain different amounts of added starch.
In their recent work, Monell researchers had 73 adults swirl around in their mouths solutions made up of different concentrations of starch—blobs of translucent gelatinous substances with no particular taste—and rate their runniness over the course of 60 seconds. Depending on the amount of amylase individuals produced, the starch could be reduced to liquid within seconds.
The researchers also took DNA samples of the participants from a blood sample or cheek swab and studied the link between the numbers of copies of a gene that turns on the production of amylase and how quickly the participant reported the sample turned runny. The findings showed that the number of copies of the gene, called AMY1, varied widely between individuals. People with higher numbers of gene copies reported that the starch turned to liquid more quickly. The study was published last month in PLoS ONE, a journal of the Public Library of Science.
The Monell researchers are now investigating whether people with more AMY1 copies see larger spikes in blood glucose after eating. They also plan to study the link between greater amylase production and food preferences, hypothesizing that people who make more of the enzyme will prefer starchy products because they get a faster blast of glucose into their bloodstream.
The role of amylase and the rate of starch breakdown also has implications for diabetes. People who digest starch quickly could be more likely to have larger spikes in blood-sugar levels and thus a need for the body to generate more insulin. This continued demand on the body might lead these people to become insulin resistant or even diabetic if the body's ability to produce insulin breaks down, says Abigail Mandel, Dr. Breslin's colleague at Monell and first author on the study.
Amylase and other enzymes in saliva could also help explain food-texture preferences that are known to vary with age, Dr. Breslin says. For instance, many young children dislike certain fruits because of a perceived sliminess—think of the inside of a tomato. But people's saliva-flow rate tends to slow with age, which might affect their ability to break down starch in the mouth and reduce sensations of sliminess.
Another factor in food preferences: People vary—probably based on genetics—in their ability to detect other textures, such as fat, and bitter and sweet tastes. Valerie Duffy, a registered dietitian and professor in the department of allied health science at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn., has shown in her research that adults with a gene that makes bitter tastes more intense consume fewer vegetables containing bitter compounds, such as kale or spinach.
But that genetic preference can be changed by repeatedly exposing the individual to the taste or by masking the bitterness, even at an early age, she has found. In a preliminary study with preschoolers, Dr. Duffy's group added a sweet taste to balance out the bitterness of certain vegetables—less than half a teaspoon of sugar to a cup of broccoli or asparagus, for example, during cooking—and found that the children were more accepting of the greens. Even when the sweetness was removed, the children still liked the vegetables more than before because they had developed a positive association with them, she says. "It suggests that people should focus on what they like to eat and make it work for them," Dr. Duffy says.
Comparative Human Salivary and Plasma Proteomes.
Abstract
The protein compositions, or the proteomes, found in human salivary and plasma fluids are compared. From recent experimental work by many laboratories, a catalogue of 2290 proteins found in whole saliva has been compiled. This list of salivary proteins is compared with the 2698 proteins found in plasma. Approximately 27% of the whole-saliva proteins are found in plasma. However, despite this apparent low degree of overlap, the distribution found across Gene Ontological categories, such as molecular function, biological processes, and cellular components, shows significant similarities.
Moreover, nearly 40% of the proteins that have been suggested to be candidate markers for diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and stroke can be found in whole saliva. These comparisons and correlations should encourage researchers to consider the use of saliva to discover new protein markers of disease and as a diagnostic non-proximal fluid to detect early signs of disease throughout the body.
Loo JA, Yan W, Ramachandran P, Wong DT.
The protein compositions, or the proteomes, found in human salivary and plasma fluids are compared. From recent experimental work by many laboratories, a catalogue of 2290 proteins found in whole saliva has been compiled. This list of salivary proteins is compared with the 2698 proteins found in plasma. Approximately 27% of the whole-saliva proteins are found in plasma. However, despite this apparent low degree of overlap, the distribution found across Gene Ontological categories, such as molecular function, biological processes, and cellular components, shows significant similarities.
Moreover, nearly 40% of the proteins that have been suggested to be candidate markers for diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and stroke can be found in whole saliva. These comparisons and correlations should encourage researchers to consider the use of saliva to discover new protein markers of disease and as a diagnostic non-proximal fluid to detect early signs of disease throughout the body.
Loo JA, Yan W, Ramachandran P, Wong DT.
Salivary testosterone, cortisol, and progesterone: Two-week stability, interhormone correlations, and effects of time of day, menstrual cycle, and ora
Abstract
With salivary assessment of steroid hormones increasing, more work is needed to address fundamental properties of steroid hormone levels in humans. Using a test–retest design and radioimmunoassay assessment of salivary steroids, we tested the reliability of testosterone, cortisol, and progesterone levels across two weeks, as well as the effects of oral contraceptives, menstrual cycle phase, and time of day on steroid hormone levels.
Testosterone and cortisol were found to be highly reliable in both sexes. Progesterone was found to be reliable after collapsing across sex. Oral contraceptive use was associated with lower levels of testosterone, but did not affect cortisol.
Contrary to expectations, oral contraceptives also did not affect progesterone. Menstrual cycle was found to affect levels of progesterone, but not testosterone or cortisol. Time of day had an effect on cortisol, on progesterone only at one testing time, and no effect on testosterone. We explored the interhormone correlations among testosterone, progesterone, and cortisol. All three hormones were positively correlated with one another in men. In women, progesterone was positively correlated with testosterone and cortisol, but testosterone and cortisol were uncorrelated.
Scott H. Lieninga, , , Steven J. Stantonb, Ekjyot K. Sainic and Oliver C. Schultheissd
a Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A8000, Austin, TX 78705, USA
b Duke University, USA
c University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
d Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen, Germany
With salivary assessment of steroid hormones increasing, more work is needed to address fundamental properties of steroid hormone levels in humans. Using a test–retest design and radioimmunoassay assessment of salivary steroids, we tested the reliability of testosterone, cortisol, and progesterone levels across two weeks, as well as the effects of oral contraceptives, menstrual cycle phase, and time of day on steroid hormone levels.
Testosterone and cortisol were found to be highly reliable in both sexes. Progesterone was found to be reliable after collapsing across sex. Oral contraceptive use was associated with lower levels of testosterone, but did not affect cortisol.
Contrary to expectations, oral contraceptives also did not affect progesterone. Menstrual cycle was found to affect levels of progesterone, but not testosterone or cortisol. Time of day had an effect on cortisol, on progesterone only at one testing time, and no effect on testosterone. We explored the interhormone correlations among testosterone, progesterone, and cortisol. All three hormones were positively correlated with one another in men. In women, progesterone was positively correlated with testosterone and cortisol, but testosterone and cortisol were uncorrelated.
Scott H. Lieninga, , , Steven J. Stantonb, Ekjyot K. Sainic and Oliver C. Schultheissd
a Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A8000, Austin, TX 78705, USA
b Duke University, USA
c University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
d Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen, Germany
Systematic comparison of the human saliva and plasma proteomes.
Proteomics Clin Appl. 2009 Jan 1;3(1):116-134.
The proteome of human salivary fluid has the potential to open new doors for disease biomarker discovery. A recent study to comprehensively identify and catalog the human ductal salivary proteome led to the compilation of 1166 proteins. The protein complexity of both saliva and plasma is large, suggesting that a comparison of these two proteomes will provide valuable insight into their physiological significance and an understanding of the unique and overlapping disease diagnostic potential that each fluid provides.
To create a more comprehensive catalog of human salivary proteins, we have first compiled an extensive list of proteins from whole saliva (WS) identified through MS experiments. The WS list is thereafter combined with the proteins identified from the ductal parotid, and submandibular and sublingual (parotid/SMSL) salivas. In parallel, a core dataset of the human plasma proteome with 3020 protein identifications was recently released.
A total of 1939 nonredundant salivary proteins were compiled from a total of 19 474 unique peptide sequences identified from whole and ductal salivas; 740 out of the total 1939 salivary proteins were identified in both whole and ductal saliva. A total of 597 of the salivary proteins have been observed in plasma. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed similarities in the distributions of the saliva and plasma proteomes with regard to cellular localization, biological processes, and molecular function, but revealed differences which may be related to the different physiological functions of saliva and plasma.
The comprehensive catalog of the salivary proteome and its comparison to the plasma proteome provides insights useful for future study, such as exploration of potential biomarkers for disease diagnostics.
The proteome of human salivary fluid has the potential to open new doors for disease biomarker discovery. A recent study to comprehensively identify and catalog the human ductal salivary proteome led to the compilation of 1166 proteins. The protein complexity of both saliva and plasma is large, suggesting that a comparison of these two proteomes will provide valuable insight into their physiological significance and an understanding of the unique and overlapping disease diagnostic potential that each fluid provides.
To create a more comprehensive catalog of human salivary proteins, we have first compiled an extensive list of proteins from whole saliva (WS) identified through MS experiments. The WS list is thereafter combined with the proteins identified from the ductal parotid, and submandibular and sublingual (parotid/SMSL) salivas. In parallel, a core dataset of the human plasma proteome with 3020 protein identifications was recently released.
A total of 1939 nonredundant salivary proteins were compiled from a total of 19 474 unique peptide sequences identified from whole and ductal salivas; 740 out of the total 1939 salivary proteins were identified in both whole and ductal saliva. A total of 597 of the salivary proteins have been observed in plasma. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed similarities in the distributions of the saliva and plasma proteomes with regard to cellular localization, biological processes, and molecular function, but revealed differences which may be related to the different physiological functions of saliva and plasma.
The comprehensive catalog of the salivary proteome and its comparison to the plasma proteome provides insights useful for future study, such as exploration of potential biomarkers for disease diagnostics.
Human papillomavirus in saliva of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in saliva rinses of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and to analyze the possibility of using saliva as a diagnostic method for screening high-risk patients.
Study design: The saliva sample of 22 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and 20 age-sex matched healthy controls were obtained. The presence of HPV 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, and 33 was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Results: In 40.9% of the patients and in 25% of the controls, the saliva was shown to be positive for HPV. In 27.3% of the patients and in 20% of the controls, the saliva was shown to be positive for HPV16; and none of the controls, except one patient was shown to be positive for HPV 18. Neither patients nor controls were positive for HPV 31 and 33. These differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusions: The results of this study were unable to support the detection of HPV in saliva rinses as a diagnostic method for OSCC.
Sahebjamee M, Boorghani M, Ghaffari SR, Atarbashimoghadam F, Keyhani A.
Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran-Iran
Study design: The saliva sample of 22 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and 20 age-sex matched healthy controls were obtained. The presence of HPV 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, and 33 was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Results: In 40.9% of the patients and in 25% of the controls, the saliva was shown to be positive for HPV. In 27.3% of the patients and in 20% of the controls, the saliva was shown to be positive for HPV16; and none of the controls, except one patient was shown to be positive for HPV 18. Neither patients nor controls were positive for HPV 31 and 33. These differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusions: The results of this study were unable to support the detection of HPV in saliva rinses as a diagnostic method for OSCC.
Sahebjamee M, Boorghani M, Ghaffari SR, Atarbashimoghadam F, Keyhani A.
Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran-Iran
Salivary alpha-amylase as a longitudinal predictor of children's externalizing symptoms:
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, KY 40506, United States.
Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) was examined as a predictor of children's externalizing symptoms cross-sectionally when children were in the 3rd grade (T1; N=64) and again in the 5th grade (T2; N=54) and longitudinally over two years. Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity, indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), was examined as a moderator of the sAA and child externalizing link. Participants were healthy, typically developing children, 34% of whom were African American and the rest European American. At each time point, saliva samples were collected during afternoon laboratory visits and assayed for sAA. Children's RSA was measured during baseline conditions and in response to an inter-adult argument and a star-tracing task. Cross-sectional associations between sAA and externalizing symptoms at T1 and T2 were moderated by PNS functioning. Longitudinally, sAA was directly associated with changes in externalizing symptoms in a non-linear fashion. Specifically, lower externalizing symptoms were predicted for children with moderate levels of sAA, but higher externalizing was predicted for children with higher or lower levels of sAA. Findings highlight the importance of the contemporaneous assessment of SNS and PNS functioning in the prediction of child psychopathology, and the need to examine curvilinear relations between ANS functioning and behavior
Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) was examined as a predictor of children's externalizing symptoms cross-sectionally when children were in the 3rd grade (T1; N=64) and again in the 5th grade (T2; N=54) and longitudinally over two years. Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity, indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), was examined as a moderator of the sAA and child externalizing link. Participants were healthy, typically developing children, 34% of whom were African American and the rest European American. At each time point, saliva samples were collected during afternoon laboratory visits and assayed for sAA. Children's RSA was measured during baseline conditions and in response to an inter-adult argument and a star-tracing task. Cross-sectional associations between sAA and externalizing symptoms at T1 and T2 were moderated by PNS functioning. Longitudinally, sAA was directly associated with changes in externalizing symptoms in a non-linear fashion. Specifically, lower externalizing symptoms were predicted for children with moderate levels of sAA, but higher externalizing was predicted for children with higher or lower levels of sAA. Findings highlight the importance of the contemporaneous assessment of SNS and PNS functioning in the prediction of child psychopathology, and the need to examine curvilinear relations between ANS functioning and behavior
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)