Temporary modification of salivary protein profile and individual responses to repeated phenolic astringent stimuli

The extent of the change in salivary protein characteristics after repeated stimulations was shown to be correlated to differences in perceived astringency. Salivary characteristics of 77 subjects were compared after masticatory (S1) and taste/masticatory (S2) stimulations. The variations (S2 minus S1) of protein concentration and saliva haze-forming capacity (HFC) were used to define 3 subject groups: low responding (LR, n = 20), medium responding (MR, n = 37), and high responding (HR, n = 20). Salivary protein concentration did not change in LR subjects; decreased a little, but significantly, in MR subjects; and strongly decreased in HR subjects. After S2, HFC increased in LR subjects, slightly decreased in MR subjects, and strongly decreased in HR subjects. Salivary protein electrophoresis patterns for HR and LR subjects were analyzed. No significant modifications of glycosylated proline-rich proteins (PRPs), PRPs, and amylases and a slight decrease in cystatins and histatins were found when S2 and S1 samples were compared in LR subjects, whereas HR subjects showed a strong decrease in all the above proteins after S2. Significant modifications of mucins were not found. Tannic acid (TA, 3 g/L) astringency ratings after S1 from HR subjects were significantly higher than those from the other 2 groups, whereas no differences were found comparing LR and MR ratings. The "carryover" effect due to 4 sequential exposures to TA samples (1.4 g/L) was observed in both HR and MR groups, whereas no significant astringency rating variation was found in the LR group. The results support the inhibiting role of proteins with strong phenol-binding activity on astringency elicitation. Individual physiological variations of parotid gland functionality might account for differences in sensitivity to astringent phenolic stimuli.