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Related Experiment Videos

Human saliva as a diagnostic specimen.

L F Hofman1

  • 1Saliva Testing and Reference Laboratory, Inc., Seattle, WA 98104, USA. linfishof@aol.com

The Journal of Nutrition
|May 8, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Human saliva analysis offers a noninvasive method for monitoring hormones, drugs, and antibodies. Saliva testing provides accurate results comparable to serum, enabling convenient at-home health monitoring.

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Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Clinical Diagnostics
  • Noninvasive Monitoring

Background:

  • Human saliva is an easily accessible biofluid for noninvasive health screening.
  • Saliva contains numerous clinically relevant analytes, including hormones, drugs, and antibodies.
  • Previous research has established correlations between salivary and serum analyte levels.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the utility of saliva as a diagnostic specimen.
  • To demonstrate the correlation between saliva and serum analyte concentrations.
  • To emphasize the advantages of saliva testing over traditional serum analysis.

Main Methods:

  • Noninvasive collection of saliva samples.
  • Analysis of various analytes including steroid hormones, nonpeptide hormones, therapeutic drugs, drugs of abuse, and antibodies.
  • Comparison of salivary analyte levels with established serum levels.

Main Results:

  • Saliva analysis accurately reflects serum levels for a wide range of analytes.
  • Diurnal and monthly hormone profiles in saliva parallel serum patterns.
  • Salivary steroid hormone levels correlate with unbound, active hormone concentrations.

Conclusions:

  • Saliva is a valuable diagnostic specimen for cost-effective and efficient health monitoring.
  • Saliva testing provides unique insights, including unbound hormone concentrations, not readily available from serum.
  • Noninvasive saliva collection facilitates patient-initiated monitoring of fertility, stress, and drug efficacy.

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