Secretion of glucose in human parotid saliva after carbohydrate intake

The aims of the present investigation were, first, to follow the secretion of free glucose in parotid saliva in various subjects after a single oral intake of different carbohydrates, and second, to compare the salivary glucose concentration with the concentration in blood. Twenty healthy subjects, three women and 17 men, 20-35 yr of age, participated. They were asked not to eat or drink anything from 10 p.m. the night before the examination. 75 g of carbohydrate (glucose, fructose, or sucrose) dissolved in 300 ml water was ingested the next morning at 8 a.m. One experimental series with glucose was performed in triplicate in 10 of the subjects. Approximately 1.5 ml of citric acid-stimulated parotid saliva was collected before (0 min) and 15, 30, 45, 60, and 120 min after the intake. Salivary concentration of glucose was analyzed enzymatically. Most of the 0-min samples showed a variation in glucose concentration from 5 to 25 mumol/l. After the glucose, fructose, and sucrose intakes, the salivary glucose level increased about 2-4 times, especially in the 30-min samples. A large inter- as well as intra-individual variation was found both in the 0-min samples and in the samples collected after the different intakes. The correlation between the glucose concentration in saliva and blood was higher after than before the carbohydrate intakes.