Abstract
Background: Caffeine is a methylxanthine which may decrease salivation through adrenergic mechanisms. Few studies have formally tested whether caffeine actually decreases saliva production. Methods: Eleven volunteers collected unstimulated 1-minute saliva production (1-MSP) after an overnight fast, followed shortly by a stimulated 1-MSP while chewing a stick of chewing gum. We then asked them to drink a beverage randomly selected to contain either regular or decaffeinated instant coffee. Caffeine content was doubleblinded. 1-MSP, both unstimulated and stimulated were then collected 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes later. The following morning the subject followed the same protocol but drank the other kind of beverage. We used a mixedeffects linear model to analyze our data. Results: The adjusted mean difference between decaffeinated and caffeinated 1-MSP was -0.14 ml (p<0.05). Stimulation with chewing gum caused an unadjusted increase of 2.02 ml (p<0.001) and an adjusted increase of 2.01 ml (p<0.05). Variation for the unstimulated 1-MSP was much lower (SD 0.4 ml) than the stimulated 1-MSP (SD 1.01 ml), whereas variation for caffeinated 1-MSP (SD 1.29 ml) was similar to decaffeinated 1-MSP (SD 1.25 ml). Conclusion: Caffeine modestly but significantly decreased both Unstimulated and stimulated saliva production. The effect of caffeine was approximately 6.5% that of stimulation. The effect from caffeine was consistent across both stimulated and unstimulated samples. Additionally, caffeine did not increase the variability of saliva production either within or between individuals, in contrast to the effect from stimulation
Highlights
Saliva has an important homeostatic role in the oral cavity
We studied the effects of caffeine ingestion on unstimulated and stimulated whole salivary production in a group of healthy adults
Few reports in the literature address inter-individual variations in saliva production, but significant differences between individuals have been described for salivary glucose clearance over time [17], for the secretion of various substances in saliva [18,19,20] as well as salivary response to stimulation by glucocorticoids [21]
Summary
Saliva has an important homeostatic role in the oral cavity. Hyposalivation can lead to diseases such as caries and mucous membrane candidiasis as well as difficulties in speech, mastication and deglutition. Its effects mostly parallel the adrenergic pathway and include increased arterial blood pressure and cardiac output, and decreased gastrointestinal muscle tone [3,4,5]. Following this teleological path, it would be expected that caffeine had a significant, dose-dependent effect on reducing salivary secretion. It would be expected that caffeine had a significant, dose-dependent effect on reducing salivary secretion This effect has been an accepted tenet of the treatment of hyposalivation [6], yet surprisingly it has not been confirmed scientifically. Few studies have formally tested whether caffeine decreases saliva production
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