Purpose: To develop a high-performance liquid chromato-graphic (HPLC) method for the determination of cadaverine in saliva and investigate the relationship between cadaverine level and organoleptic test results of halitosis.
Methods: Saliva samples from 56 subjects were derived. 1,6-hexanediamine was used as internal standard solution. The mobile phase of the HPLC was composed of solution A, methanol; solution B, V(water):V(phosphoric acid):V(triethylamine)=360:9:6 at a flow rate of 1 ml/minute. Detection was carried out at a wavelength of 231 nm. Organoleptic test scores were recorded by 2 judges, according to a 0 to 5 scale corresponding to the degree of halitosis. The relativity between cadaverine levels in saliva and organoleptic test results was analyzed by Pearson correlation method using SPSS11.0 software package.
Results: The standard curve was linear over the concentration range of 5-80 nmol/ml for cadaverine with correlation coefficient 0.9985. The recovery was 91.5% with RSD 6.93%. Cadaverine levels in saliva correlated with organoleptic test results(P<0.01).
Conclusion: The correlation between cadaverine levels in saliva and halitosis suggests that the determination of cadaverine levels by HPLC method can be used in clinical diagnosis of halitosis.