The Antioxidant Potential of Saliva: Clinical Significance in Oral Diseases

The use of saliva as a diagnostic fluid is a relatively recent trend. Saliva is a mixed oral fluid derived from major and minor salivary glands. Oral fluid, often called the mirror of the body’s health, is a perfect medium to be explored for health and disease surveillance. Saliva is considered to be the first line of defense against oxidative stress (OS), the main cause for many systemic and oral diseases. Important sources of oral free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are tobacco smoke, periodontitis and other oral diseases. Saliva is rich in antioxidants: uric acid, albumin, ascorbate and enzymes which constitute the antioxidant potential of saliva. Aim of the study: To test possible correlations between several salivary biomarkers and oral diseases associated with OS. Material and methods: We have determined the salivary antioxidant potential in patients with periodontitis (20), oral lichen planus (OLP) (20) smokers (20) versus controls (20). The following salivary biomarkers were evaluated: uric acid, albumin and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Salivary biomarkers were performed using analysis kits on automatic analyzer. Analysis kits were provided by Biosystems Diagnostics (Spain) and by Randox (UK). Results: Analysis revealed statistically significant changes of the mentioned parameters in patients’ saliva versus controls. Conclusions: Our results illustrate that OS caused a depletion of antioxidant status in the oral cavity. Uric acid, albumin and TAC are very important and promising salivary biomarkers for monitoring the oral OS.