Stress affects salivary alpha-Amylase activity in bonobos

Salivary alpha-Amylase (sAA) is a starch digesting enzyme. In addition to its function in the context of nutrition, sAA has also turned out to be useful for monitoring sympathetic nervous system activity. Recent studies on humans have found a relationship between intra-individual changes in sAA activity and physical and psychological stress. In studies on primates and other vertebrates, non-invasive monitoring of short-term stress responses is usually based on measurements of cortisol levels, which are indicative of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity. The few studies that have used both cortisol levels and sAA activity indicate that these two markers may respond differently and independently to different types of stress such that variation in the degree of the activation of different stress response systems might reflect alternative coping mechanisms or individual traits. Here, we present the first data on intra- and inter-individual variation of sAA activity in captive bonobos and compare the results with information from other ape species and humans. Our results indicate that sAA activity in the bonobo samples was significantly lower than in the human samples but within the range of other great ape species. In addition, sAA activity was significantly higher in samples collected at times when subjects had been exposed to stressors (judged by changes in behavioral patterns and cortisol levels) than in samples collected at other times. Our results indicate that bonobos possess functioning sAA and, as in other species, sAA activity is influenced by autonomic nervous system activity. Monitoring sAA activity could therefore be a useful tool for evaluating stress in bonobos.