Variations of some salivary antimicrobial factors in different disease states: a review

Abstract

The antimicrobial properties of saliva had been recognized for a long time owing to their importance in the natural defense mechanism of the body, particularly in diseases that have local effects on the tissues of the oral cavity. The immune and non-immune antimicrobial salivary factors have been measured in different disease states to observe the variations in their levels in an attempt to understand the pathogenesis of some systemic diseases and to formulate better lines of treatment particularly for diseases that are either difficult to cure or that are not treatable yet. The aim of this paper was to review the literature on some antimicrobial factors and their variations in some disease states and to understand the inter-relationship between the salivary antimicrobial factors and systemic disseases asffecting the oral cavity. In order to have a better understanding of the factors affecting salivary secretions, there has to be a more standardized approach for saliva collection and analysis, more so because of some differences between the composition of mixed saliva and that fromthe individual salivary glands.