Lipids in human parotid saliva with regard to caries experience

It has been reported that saliva may play an important role in the prevention and development of enamel caries and that both lipids and protein contents in saliva may be relevant to this role. This study examined the lipid and protein levels in saliva from individuals differing in caries experience. Female subjects (20 to 21 years old) were used divided equally into two groups, caries-susceptible group (CSG) and caries-resistant group (CRG). Stimulated parotid saliva and stimulated whole saliva were collected from the subjects. After centrifugation, each saliva sample was analyzed for the concentrations of lipids and proteins and for the compositions of lipids and fatty acids. The lipid and protein contents in parotid saliva increased in proportion to increase of the flow rate. The lipid content was slightly correlated with the protein one (r = 0.33). Total lipid and protein concentrations were higher in the samples from CSG than those from CRG. The lipid composition was similar in the samples from the two groups; more than half in total lipids was neutral lipids, followed by glycolipids and phospholipids. Neutral lipids and free fatty acid and triacylglyceride concentrations were significantly higher in the samples from CSG than those from CRG (p<0.01 for each). Also stearic, linoleic and docosahexaenoic acids were significantly higher in the former group than the latter one (p<0.05 and p<0.01). In summary, the lipid concentrations in parotid saliva from caries susceptible subjects were higher than those from caries resistant ones, and the difference in fatty acid composition was detected between them. The variations in the lipid levels and fatty acid composition may be associated with those in caries development.