Secretion rate and amylase concentration of whole saliva after consumption of beer

Abstract

Saliva is of paramount importance for the maintenance of oral health (1). Only a few studies have investigated the acute effects of alcohol consumption on salivary function. In rats, acute administration of a high dose of ethanol caused a significant reduction in stimulated parotid secretion (2) and reduced the protein synthesis in all major salivary glands (3). Ingestion of a high dose of ethanol by humans also caused a decrease in parotid salivary flow rate (4) and stimulated whole saliva flow rate (5), with a concomitant reduction in salivary amylase activity and output (5). In this study, we investigated the possible effects of a relatively small volume of beer on salivary function. Ten healthy volunteers (seven men and three women; mean age 32.1 ± 17.9 years) participated in this study. They were instructed to abstain from alcohol at least 12 h prior to the experiment and to abstain from smoking, eating, drinking caffeine containing beverages and toothbrushing at least 1 h prior to the experiment. All experiments took place between 09:30 and 12:30 hours. In a crossover design, the volunteers consumed either 300 ml top-fermented beer (Palm Breweries, Steenhuffel, Belgium, 5.2% alcohol) within 5 min. As a control, 300 ml non-alcoholic beer was used (Amstel Malt, Zoeterwoude, The Netherlands, <0.1% alcohol). The time interval between both experimental conditions was 1 week. Immediately before the consumption of beer and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min later, mechanically stimulated whole saliva was collected in preweighed tubes for 5 min by parafilm-chewing (6). The salivary flow rates were determined gravimetrically. SHORT COMMUNICATION