Salivary composition in obese vs normal-weight subjects: towards a role in postprandial lipid metabolism?

Salivary fatty acids in humans: a comprehensive literature review

Fatty acids (FAs) exert diverse biological functions in humans, influencing physiological responses and, ultimately, health and disease risk. The analysis of FAs in human samples has significant implications and attracts interest in diagnostics and research. The standard method for assessing FA profiles involves the collection of blood samples, which can be inconvenient, invasive, and potentially painful, particularly for young individuals outside hospital settings. Saliva emerged as a promising alternative for evaluating FA profiles in both clinical and research settings. However, to the best of our knowledge, an updated synthesis of the related evidence is unavailable. This comprehensive review aims to summarize data on FA analysis and highlight the potential of the use of salivary FAs as a biomarker in health and disease. Over the past decade, there has been a growing interest in studying salivary FAs in chronic diseases, and more recently, researchers have explored the prognostic value of FAs in acute conditions to check the availability of a non-invasive sampling methodology. A deeper understanding of salivary FAs could have relevant implications both for healthy individuals and patients, particularly in elucidating the correlation between the dietary lipidic content and salivary FA level, Finally, it is crucial to address the standardization of the methods as the sampling, processing, and analysis of saliva are heterogeneous among studies, and limited correlation between blood FAs and salivary FAs is available.

Physiology of the tongue with emphasis on taste transduction

The tongue is a complex multifunctional organ that interacts and senses both interoceptively and exteroceptively. Although it is easily visible to almost all of us, it is relatively understudied and what is in the literature is often contradictory or is not comprehensively reported. The tongue is both a motor and a sensory organ: motor in that it is required for speech and mastication, and sensory in that it receives information to be relayed to the central nervous system pertaining to the safety and quality of the contents of the oral cavity. Additionally, the tongue and its taste apparatus form part of an innate immune surveillance system. For example, loss or alteration in taste perception can be an early indication of infection as became evident during the present global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Here, we particularly emphasize the latest updates in the mechanisms of taste perception, taste bud formation and adult taste bud renewal, and the presence and effects of hormones on taste perception, review the understudied lingual immune system with specific reference to SARS-CoV-2, discuss nascent work on tongue microbiome, as well as address the effect of systemic disease on tongue structure and function, especially in relation to taste.

Taste of Fat and Obesity: Different Hypotheses and Our Point of View

Obesity results from a temporary or prolonged positive energy balance due to an alteration in the homeostatic feedback of energy balance. Food, with its discriminative and hedonic qualities, is a key element of reward-based energy intake. An alteration in the brain reward system for highly palatable energy-rich foods, comprised of fat and carbohydrates, could be one of the main factors involved in the development of obesity by increasing the attractiveness and consumption of fat-rich foods. This would induce, in turn, a decrease in the taste of fat. A better understanding of the altered reward system in obesity may open the door to a new era for the diagnosis, management and treatment of this disease.

Role of the Endocannabinoid System in the Adipose Tissue with Focus on Energy Metabolism

The endocannabinoid system is involved in a wide range of processes including the control of energy acquisition and expenditure. Endocannabinoids and their receptors are present in the central nervous system but also in peripheral tissues, notably the adipose tissues. The endocannabinoid system interacts with two main hormones regulating appetite, namely leptin and ghrelin. The inhibitory effect of the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB₁) antagonist rimonabant on fat mass suggested that the endocannabinoid system can also have a peripheral action in addition to its effect on appetite reduction. Thus, several investigations have focused on the peripheral role of the endocannabinoid system in the regulation of metabolism. The white adipose tissue stores energy as triglycerides while the brown adipose tissue helps to dissipate energy as heat. The endocannabinoid system regulates several functions of the adipose tissues to favor energy accumulation. In this review we will describe the presence of the endocannabinoid system in the adipose tissue. We will survey the role of the endocannabinoid system in the regulation of white and brown adipose tissue metabolism and how the eCB system participates in obesity and metabolic diseases.

Oral physiological and biochemical characteristics of different dietary habit groups II: Comparison of oral salivary biochemical properties of Chinese Mongolian and Han Young adults

Saliva is an important component of food oral processing affecting the initial digestion and the formation of food bolus. It has been speculated that salivary biochemical properties could directly influence one's dietary habits, and vice versa. To date, there are few studies that investigate the possible relationships between dietary habits and salivary biochemical properties in Chinese participants from different dietary background. This study examined two Chinese ethnical groups of very different culture of food consumption, Han and Mongolian healthy young participants, as research participants to explore the differences in salivary biochemical properties and possible associations with dietary preferences. Chinese Mongolians tend to consume more red meat and dairy products, and Chinese Han tend to consume more carbohydrates as suggested by official data; therefore, a total of 304 healthy participants (200 Han and 104 Mongolian) were recruited for salivary compositional analysis. Results showed that for Mongolian participants' unstimulated salivary lipolytic activity (0.10 U/mL) and stimulated salivary lipolytic activity (0.09 U/mL) are significantly higher than those of the Han (0.03 U/mL, 0.04 U/mL) (p < 0.01), but their stimulated salivary α-amylase activity (2733 U/mL) was significantly lower than that of Han (3596 U/mL) (p < 0.01). Unstimulated and stimulated salivary total protein content of Chinese Han participants were significantly higher than those of Mongolian participants (p < 0.0001, p = 0.043). These findings have showed our initial hypothesis of possible associations between dietary habits and salivary biochemical properties.

Postprandial Endotoxin Transporters LBP and sCD14 Differ in Obese vs. Overweight and Normal Weight Men during Fat-Rich Meal Digestion

Circulating levels of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) and soluble cluster of differentiation 14 (sCD14) are recognized as clinical markers of endotoxemia. In obese men, postprandial endotoxemia is modulated by the amount of fat ingested, being higher compared to normal-weight (NW) subjects. Relative variations of LBP/sCD14 ratio in response to overfeeding are also considered important in the inflammation set-up, as measured through IL-6 concentration. We tested the hypothesis that postprandial LBP and sCD14 circulating concentrations differed in obese vs. overweight and NW men after a fat-rich meal. We thus analyzed the postprandial kinetics of LBP and sCD14 in the context of two clinical trials involving postprandial tests in normal-, over-weight and obese men. In the first clinical trial eight NW and 8 obese men ingested breakfasts containing 10 vs. 40 g of fat. In the second clinical trial, 18 healthy men were overfed during 8 weeks. sCD14, LBP and Il-6 were measured in all subjects during 5 h after test meal. Obese men presented a higher fasting and postprandial LBP concentration in plasma than NW men regardless of fat load, while postprandial sCD14 was similar in both groups. Irrespective of the overfeeding treatment, we observed postprandial increase of sCD14 and decrease of LBP before and after OF. In obese individuals receiving a 10 g fat load, whereas IL-6 increased 5h after meal, LBP and sCD14 did not increase. No direct association between the postprandial kinetics of endotoxemia markers sCD14 and LBP and of inflammation in obese men was observed in this study.

A comparative pharmacogenomic analysis of three classic TCM prescriptions for coronary heart disease based on molecular network modeling

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has evolved over several thousands of years, which has been shown to be efficacious in the treatment of ischemic heart disease. Three classical TCM prescriptions, namely Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction, Zhishi Xiebai Guizhi Decoction, and Gualou Xiebai Banxia Decoction, have been extensively used in the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD). Based on molecular network modeling, we performed a comparative pharmacogenomic analysis to systematically determine the drug-targeting spectrum of the three prescriptions at molecular level. Wide-area target molecules of CHD were covered, which was a common feature of the three decoctions, demonstrating their therapeutic functions. Meanwhile, collective signaling involved metabolic/pro-metabolic pathways, driving and transferring pathways, neuropsychiatric pathways, and exocrine or endocrine pathways. These organized pharmacological disturbance was mainly focused on almost all stages of CHD intervention, such as anti-atherosclerosis, lipid metabolism, inflammation, vascular wall function, foam cells formation, platelets aggregation, thrombosis, arrhythmia, and ischemia-reperfusion injury. In addition, heterogeneity analysis of the global pharmacological molecular spectrum revealed that signaling crosstalk, cascade convergence, and key targets were tendentious among the three decoctions. After all, it is unadvisable to rank the findings on targeting advantages of the three decoctions. Comparative pharmacological evidence may provide an appropriate decoction scheme for individualized intervention of CHD.

Molecular Regulatory Mechanism of Exocytosis in the Salivary Glands

Every day, salivary glands produce about 0.5 to 1.5 L of saliva, which contains salivary proteins that are essential for oral health. The contents of saliva, 0.3% proteins (1.5 to 4.5 g) in fluid, help prevent oral infections, provide lubrication, aid digestion, and maintain oral health. Acinar cells in the lobular salivary glands secrete prepackaged secretory granules that contain salivary components such as amylase, mucins, and immunoglobulins. Despite the important physiological functions of salivary proteins, we know very little about the regulatory mechanisms of their secretion via exocytosis, which is a process essential for the secretion of functional proteins, not only in salivary glands, but also in other secretory organs, including lacrimal and mammary glands, the pancreas, and prostate. In this review, we discuss recent findings that elucidate exocytosis by exocrine glands, especially focusing on the salivary glands, in physiological and pathological conditions.

Unstimulated saliva: Background noise in taste molecules

Saliva is a highly complex bodily fluid composed of many proteins, peptides, small organic molecules, and ions. Saliva is produced and secreted by the major and minor salivary glands to protect the mouth and to participate in digestion. Generally, a distinction is made between unstimulated saliva that is a result of autonomic stimulation and stimulated saliva that is produced during chewing and taste stimulation. The link between saliva and sensory perception can thus be regarded in two ways: the role of unstimulated saliva as a background taste and the mechanistic role of stimulated saliva during eating. Indeed, unstimulated saliva (and its components) is continuously bathing our oral cavity and as such stimulates our taste receptors, thus playing a role in taste sensitivity. However, the role of unstimulated salivary components in mediating taste has been studied only in very few substances. To explore this question, this review attempts to compare data from the literature on unstimulated salivary composition with those on taste sensitivity. The main conclusion centres around the concept that the gustatory self-adaptation phenomenon may be relevant for only a few salivary compounds. Further studies at the level of the salivary Von Ebner glands and salivary pellicle are necessary before arriving at definitive conclusions on this subject. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Unstimulated saliva contains taste substances that can influence sensory perception through taste adaptation. However, large inter-individual variability exists in unstimulated salivary composition both qualitatively and quantitatively. These differences may explain the variability in taste perception and thus the food choices and behaviors of an individual. Thus, in the context of providing personalized food and nutrition to the consumer, variability of unstimulated saliva should be considered for specific formulation of food products.

How are macronutrient intake, BMI, ethnicity, age, and gender related to the composition of unstimulated saliva? A case study

This study investigated how macronutrient intake, BMI, ethnicity, age, and gender are related to the composition of unstimulated saliva. First, two groups of Caucasian, Dutch subjects varying in daily intake of carbohydrate, fat, and protein were selected. The daily intake of macronutrients differed by two- to threefold between the low (n = 14) and high (n = 16) macronutrient intake groups. The same subjects were divided into two groups based on BMI: normal weight (n = 14, 22.5 ± 2.0 kg/m² ) and overweight (n = 16, 28.1 ± 3.4 kg/m² ). Second, one group of Caucasian, Dutch (n = 15) and one group of Asian, Chinese (n = 15) subjects were selected. Unstimulated saliva was collected from all groups. Protein concentration, amylolytic activity, lipolytic activity, and saliva flow rate were determined. None of the salivary parameters varied according to macronutrient intake and BMI. An effect of ethnicity on protein concentration was observed (p < .01; η² = 0.142), with Asians having a 45% higher protein concentration in unstimulated saliva than Caucasians. Age had a significant effect on all salivary parameters. Protein concentration (p < .01; η² = 0.256), amylolytic activity (p < .01; η² = 0.234), and lipolytic activity (p < .05; η² = 0.207) increased with age, while saliva flow rate decreased (p < .01; η² = 0.262). Gender had a significant effect on saliva flow rate (p < .01; η² = 0.130), with male subjects having a 32% higher flow rate than females. Age was the factor that had the greatest impact on the characteristics of unstimulated saliva. As the modulation of saliva composition according to diet has been reported previously, the extent to which macronutrient intake can affect saliva composition needs to be further investigated. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Saliva plays an important role in food oral processing. From the breakdown of food structures to the binding of flavor compounds and the formation of a swallowable bolus, saliva is essential for the perception and appreciation of foods. Identifying the factors that affect saliva composition is, therefore, necessary to understand the differences in eating behavior, food perception, and preference across different consumer groups. This article aims to highlight the importance of considering saliva variability when designing food products that meet the needs of specific consumer groups.

Extra virgin olive oil aroma release after interaction with human saliva from individuals with different body mass index

BACKGROUND

The interindividual variability observed in saliva characteristics raises the question of its relationship with variability in fat sensory perception, particularly in aroma compounds. In the present study, which aimed to measure aroma release from different individuals, eleven key aroma compounds of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) were monitored and quantified in dynamic headspace after an in vitro interaction between EVOO and human saliva. Therefore, 60 individuals were studied from those who were normal weight (NW), overweight (OW) and obese (O).

RESULTS

OW and O demonstrate a higher release of C₆ compounds compared to NW. By contrast, NW have a higher release of C₅ compounds. Pentanal and hexanal also increased after saliva interaction in a refined olive oil that is free from volatiles. Among the saliva samples with a higher release in NW individuals, only pentanal was different. However, the low levels of these lipid oxidation end-products do not appear to be very important with respect to increasing odorous fat sensitivity.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained in the present study demonstrate the important role of saliva in the aroma release of EVOO, indicating that humans can perceive it differently in relation to their body mass index. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Obese Subjects With Specific Gustatory Papillae Microbiota and Salivary Cues Display an Impairment to Sense Lipids

Some obese subjects overeat lipid-rich foods. The origin of this eating behavior is unknown. We have here tested the hypothesis that these subjects could be characterized by an impaired fatty taste sensitivity linked to a change in the gustatory papillae microbial and salivary environment. The composition of microbiota and saliva surrounding the circumvallate papillae was analyzed in combination with the orosensory lipid detection threshold in normal weight (NW) and obese (O) adults. Microbial architecture was similar to what was known in feces, but with an increased frequency of Proteobacteria. No difference in the orosensory sensitivity to lipids and composition of oral microbiota and saliva was observed between NW and O subjects. By contrast, specific bacterial and salivary signatures were found in lipid non-tasters, irrespectively of BMI. A multivariate approach highlighted that the salivary flow, lysozyme activity, total antioxidant capacity and TM7 bacterial family discriminated between tasters and non-tasters. Subgroup analysis of obese tasters (OT) versus obese non-tasters (ONT) identified specific bacterial metabolic pathways (i.e. phosphotransferase and simple sugar transport systems) as being higher in ONT. Altogether with the identification of a set of significant salivary variables, our study suggests that an "obese tongue" phenotype is associated with decreased orosensory sensitivity to lipids in some obese subjects.

Model cheese aroma perception is explained not only by in vivo aroma release but also by salivary composition and oral processing parameters

The aim of the present paper was to determine, from four model cheeses differing in fat content and firmness, the respective impacts ofin vivoaroma release, bolus rheology, chewing activity, mouth coating and salivary composition on dynamic aroma perception.

Lipids and obesity: Also a matter of taste?

Obesity is undoubtedly one of the major public health challenges worldwide because of its rapid progression and deleterious effects of associated diseases. The easier access to tasty and energy-dense foods is thought to greatly contribute to this epidemic. Studies also report that obese subjects and animals (rats and mice) preferentially consume foods rich in fat when they can choose. The origin of this eating behavior remains elusive. Over the last decade, the existence of a taste of fat, besides textural and olfactory cues, was supported by a growing number of studies. The existence of a sixth taste modality devoted to the detection/perception of dietary lipids might offer additive information on the quality of food. While the sense of taste is recognized to be a driving-force guiding food choice, interest in the putative relationships between lipids, gustation and obesity is only now emerging. This mini-review will attempt to summarize our current knowledge on this new field of research.

Carbonic Anhydrase VI Gene Polymorphism rs2274327 Relationship Between Salivary Parameters and Dental-Oral Health Status in Children

The aim of this study was to research carbonic anhydrase (CA) VI one single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and its potential association with dental-oral health status (dental caries, Plaque Index (PI) and Gingival Index (GI)) and salivary parameters (salivary buffering capacity, salivary flow rate (SFR)) in children. A total of 178 children were divided into two groups: non-carious (n = 70, 34 boys and 36 girls) and carious (n = 108, 47 boys and 61 girls). The clinical evaluations were performed according to the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dmft/DMFT) index by a specialist. Clinical parameters including PI, GI, and simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) were recorded. Salivary pH (SpH) was measured using pH paper. Blood samples and unstimulated whole saliva were collected, and SFR was calculated. The CA VI rs2274327 polymorphism was determined by a LightSNiP assay on the realtime PCR system. The frequencies of rs2274327 were not significant between groups (p > 0.05). There was a positive correlation between OHI-S and SpH in the carious and non-carious groups (p < 0.05). There was no correlation among the SNPs' frequencies and OHI-S, PI, GI, SFR, and SpH (p > 0.05). CA VI SNP (rs2274327) had no statistically significant association with OHI-S, PI, GI, SFR, and SpH in the children.

Salivary and Urinary Total Antioxidant Capacity as Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress in Humans

Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) is a biomarker often used in order to investigate oxidative stress in many pathological conditions. Saliva and urine can be collected noninvasively and represent attractive diagnostic fluids for detecting biomarkers of various pathological conditions. The reviewed case-control and intervention studies that measured salivary or urinary TAC revealed that diseases, antioxidant foods, or supplements and age, gender, and lifestyle factors influenced salivary or urinary TAC. Salivary and urinary TAC were particularly affected by oral or renal status, respectively, as well as by infection; therefore these factors must be taken into account in both case-control and intervention studies. Furthermore, some considerations on sample collection and normalization strategies could be made. In particular, unstimulated saliva could be the better approach to measure salivary TAC, whereas 24 h or spontaneous urine collection should be chosen on the basis of the study outcome and of the creatinine clearance. Finally, the uric acid-independent TAC could be the better approach to evaluate red-ox status of body, in particular after nutritional interventions and in diseases associated with hyperuricaemia.

Changes in the salivary protein profile of morbidly obese women either previously subjected to bariatric surgery or not

Saliva is a non-invasive source of biomarkers useful in the study of physiological mechanisms. Moreover, this fluid has diverse functions, among which food perception and ingestion, making it particularly suitable for the study of obesity. The aims of this study were to assess changes in salivary proteome among morbidly obese women, with a view to provide information about mechanisms potentially related to the development of obesity, and to evaluate whether these changes persist after weight loss. Mixed saliva samples from morbidly obese women (N = 18) who had been either subjected (group O-BS) or not (group O) to bariatric surgery and women with normal weight (N = 14; group C) were compared for protein profiles, alpha-amylase abundance and enzymatic activity, and carbonic anhydrase (CA) VI abundance. Differences in salivary obese profiles were observed for 23 different spots. Zinc-alpha-2 glycoprotein-containing spots showed higher abundance in group O only, whereas cystatin S-containing spots presented higher abundance in the two groups of obese subjects. Most of the spots identified as salivary amylase were present at lower levels in group O-BS. With regard to the amylase enzymatic activity, increases were observed for group O and decreases for group O-BS. One interesting finding was the high correlation between levels of CA VI and body mass index in group O, which was not observed for groups O-BS or C. The differences between groups, mainly regarding salivary proteins involved in taste sensitivity and metabolism, point to the potential of using saliva in the study of obesity development.