Spectrophotometric assessment of salivary β-galactosidases in halitosis

J Breath Res. 2012 Jun;6(2):021001. doi: 10.1088/1752-7155/6/2/021001. Epub 2012 Mar 19.

Abstract

The aim of this work was to develop a spectrophotometric method for the measurement of salivary β-galactosidase for the evaluation of oral malodor. A comparison between different methods for estimating oral malodor has been conducted on 94 healthy adult volunteers. For organoleptic measurements, the subjects were instructed to exhale briefly through the mouth at a distance of approximately 10 cm from the noses of two trained judges. The evaluation of β-galactosidase activity was accomplished in unstimulated whole saliva of all participants through the colorimetric method and spectrophotometry. A significant association among spectrophotometric evaluation of β-galactosidase and organoleptic measurements was assessed by Spearman correlations. Although colorimetric and spectrophotometric assessments of β-galactosidases were estimated to have the same sensitivity, the last method is characterized by a higher specificity. The results suggest that the use of the UV-vis spectrophotometer increases the specificity of the evaluation of salivary β-galactosidases.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Halitosis / diagnosis
  • Halitosis / enzymology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Reference Values
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Saliva / chemistry*
  • Salivary Glands / enzymology
  • Salivary Glands / metabolism*
  • Salivary Glands / pathology
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Spectrophotometry / methods*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Young Adult
  • beta-Galactosidase / analysis*

Substances

  • beta-Galactosidase