Salivary alpha amylase activity in migraine patients

Objective
Salivary alpha amylase levels were measured to investigate sympathetic nervous system activity in migraine patients during attack, post-attack and interval periods of headache since Salivary alpha amylase levels have been suggested as a potential indirect marker of sympatho-adrenal medullary activity in recent studies.

Methods
50 patients with migraine headache (13 patients in attack, 26 patients in post-attack and 11 patients in interval period) and 60 healthy volunteers were taken into the study. In all participants, the presence of anxiety was measured by using Hamilton Anxiety Rating scale. The visual analog scale scores for pain level estimation were obtained in the attack group.

Results
The salivary alpha amylase levels were significantly lower in attack period (p < 0.01) and higher in post-attack period (p < 0.01) when compared with the control group. There was not any significant difference in salivary alpha amylase levels between interval period and control group (p > 0.05). There was a weak negative correlation between the salivary alpha amylase levels and the visual analog scale scores.

Conclusions
This is the first study showing the dynamic nature of sympathetic nervous system activity by evaluating the salivary alpha amylase levels—a noninvasive, reliable and an easy method—in different periods of migraine headache.

Guler Bugdaycia, 1, Serpil Yildizb, , 1, , Burcu Altunrendeb, Nebil Yildizb and Seval Alkoyc
a Department of Biochemistry, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Izzet Baysal Medical Faculty, Bolu, Turkey
b Department of Neurology, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Izzet Baysal Medical Faculty, Bolu, Turkey
c Department of Public Health, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Izzet Baysal Medical Faculty, Bolu, Turkey
Received 26 August 2009; revised 19 January 2010

Salivary alpha-amylase stability, diurnal profile and lack of response to the cold hand test in young women

Salivary cortisol measurement has proved useful for the non-invasive study of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, and salivary alpha-amylase has been suggested as a comparable marker for the sympathetic system. Despite some studies showing an increase in salivary alpha-amylase after challenges that stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, questions remain about interpretation. The aims of this study were to explore the stability of salivary alpha-amylase, its diurnal profile, response to the cold hand test, and correlation with cortisol. Salivary alpha-amylase was stable following 5 days at room temperature, and five freeze-thaw cycles. Its diurnal profile was opposite to that of cortisol. There was no salivary alpha-amylase response to the cold hand stress test, in the morning (11am) or afternoon (3pm), unlike cortisol which showed a response in the afternoon in the same samples. There was no correlation between salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol at any time. In conclusion, salivary alpha-amylase is stable to a range of conditions. Its diurnal pattern is compatible with sympathetic stimulation. Lack of response to the cold hand test suggests that secretion of salivary alpha-amylase is controlled by mechanisms more complex than sympathetic regulation alone.

O'Donnell K, Kammerer M, O'Reilly R, Taylor A, Glover V.
Imperial College London, Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, London, UK

Influence of concentration of fragrances on salivary alpha-amylase

The objective is to reveal the influence of the concentration of fragrances on salivary biomarkers , which reflect the human stress system, in 15 female young healthy adults. Lavandula officinalis and Citrus aurantium were used as the test samples.

Salivary biomarkers such as alpha-amylase activity (AMY), cortisol (CORT) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) were measured during baseline, inhalation and post-inhalation periods.

Our results indicated that (i) a significant difference was not observed for the control and the 3 wt% test samples, however, the alpha-amylase was decreased by inhalation of the 1 wt% test samples (P < 0.05); (ii) AMY levels changed more significantly than did the hormone levels; (iii) a tendency of negative correlation was not observed between DHEA and CORT. It was considered that the time-course change of alpha-amylase might be a useful index of the inhalation of fragrances, which reflects the acute psychosomatic reactivity of humans

Salivary alpha-amylase as a non-invasive biomarker for the sympathetic nervous system: current state of research.

University of Zurich, Institute of Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Zurich, Switzerland. u.nater@psychologie.uzh.ch

Development of new biomarkers is a constantly evolving field of research endeavor in psychoneuroendocrinology. Salivary biomarkers have received special attention since they are readily accessible and easily obtained. Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) has been proposed as a sensitive biomarker for stress-related changes in the body that reflect the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), and a growing body of research is accumulating to support the validity and reliability of this parameter. However, questions remain to be answered before Salivary alpha-amylase sAA can be accepted as an index of SNS activity. This review describes sAA as an emerging biomarker for stress and provides an overview of the current literature on stress-related alterations in Salivary alpha-amylase sAA. It critically discusses how sAA might reflect changes in the autonomic nervous system. Finally, current and future fields for the application of sAA measurement are outlined.

Amylase {alpha}-2A Autoantibodies: Novel Marker of Autoimmune Pancreatitis and Fulminant Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

Objective: The pathogenesis of autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) and fulminant type 1 diabetes (FT1DM) remains unclear, although it is known that immune-mediated processes severely compromise the endocrine and exocrine functions in both diseases. Methods: We have screened a lambdaTriplEx2 human pancreas cDNA library with serum from a patient with AIP and obtained positive clones. Sequence analysis revealed that seven out of 10 clones were identical to human amylase alpha-2A. Using a recombinant C-terminal amylase alpha-2A protein, we developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system to detect autoantibodies against human amylase alpha-2A. Results: All 15 serum samples from patients with AIP recognized the recombinant protein, while sera from 25 patients with chronic alcoholic pancreatitis and sera from 25 patients with a pancreas tumor did not. Interestingly, 88% (15/17) of patients with FT1DM were positive for an autoantibody against amylase alpha-2A. These antibodies were detected in 21% of patients with acute-onset type 1 diabetes (AT1DM, 9/42) and 6% of type 2 diabetic patients (4/67). Conclusions: These results suggest that an autoantibody against amylase alpha-2A is a novel diagnostic marker for both AIP and FT1DM, and that clinically and immunologically, AIP and FT1DM are closely related.

Endo T, Takizawa S, Tanaka S, Takahashi M, Fujii H, Kamisawa T, Kobayashi T.
Diabetes. 2008 Nov 10

An investigation of the bacteriocinogenic potential of lactic acid bacteria associated with wheat (Triticum durum) kernels and non-conventional flours

One hundred and thirty-seven lactic acid bacteria (LAB), previously isolated from wheat (Triticum durum) grains and non-conventional flour samples, were tested for the production of antibacterial substances. A total of 16 strains (5 Enterococcus faecium, 5 Enterococcus mundtii, 4 Pediococcus pentosaceus, 1 Lactobacillus coryniformis and 1 Lactococcus garvieae) were found to inhibit the growth of Listeria innocua. The antibacterial activities were preliminarily investigated for their general behaviour with proteolytic (proteinase K, protease B and trypsin), amylolytic (-amylase) and lipolytic (lipase) enzymes, after heat treatment, and exposure to different pHs and ethanol concentrations. Bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances (BLIS) were also characterized for their inhibition spectra against non-pathogenic and pathogenic food-associated and human pathogenic bacteria. LAB showing the best characteristics in terms of inhibition spectrum, inhibition activity and mode of action (bactericidal) belonged to the species Ent. mundtii. The high percentage (11.68%) of BLIS-producing strains detected confirmed previous observations that raw materials may harbour higher numbers of bacteriocinogenic LAB than fermented foods.

ARTICLE

Salivary-Amylase: A Measure Associated with Satiety and Subsequent Food Intake in Humans

Food intake regulation in humans involves various central and peripheral mechanisms. In this study salivary amylase was examined for functioning as a measure of satiety and food intake. In a 1.25-h session, 32 fasted subjects were given a preload of starch-based custard (849 kJ) followed by ad libitum intake of this custard. Before and after preload intake and after ad libitum consumption, both satiety ratings and -amylase were analysed. Perceived satiety and -amylase were increased after preload and ad libitum consumption. Across subjects, the individual amount of ad libitum intake was negatively correlated to -amylase levels before this intake, whereas it was positively associated with -amylase activity after ad libitum consumption. In conclusion, salivary -amylase systematically increases upon food consumption and satiation, and serves therefore as a potential measure of satiety and subsequent food intake.

Lucien F. Harthoorna

TI Food and Nutrition (WCFS), P.O. Box 557, 6700 AN Wageningen, The Netherlands
Wageningen UR, Agrotechnology & Food Sciences Group, Centre for Innovative Consumer Studies, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Article