THE ACTIVITY OF SOME SALIVARY ENZYMES OF THE RAT FED WITH A CARIOGENIC DIET AND WITH FLUORIDATION OF THE DRINKING WATER

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the impact of fluoridation of the drinking water on the enzyme activities of α-amylase, alkaline phosphatase, and acid phosphatase in the whole mixed saliva of rats fed with a cariogenic diet. This chapter presents several experiments in which 71 male rats were used. They were divided into seven groups. Litter mates were kept together. The animals got food and drinking water ad libitum . The control group got pure tap water. The protein content of saliva was determined by taking human serum albumin as a standard. The protein content and the activity of α-amylase in the saliva of the fluoride groups showed no significant difference to the control group. The activity of alkaline phosphatase, though very small, showed a clear difference between fluoride groups and control. Furthermore, there existed a significant positive correlation between fluoride content in the drinking water and activity of alkaline phosphatase in the saliva in the range of 0.5 mg/l to 3.0 mg/l fluoride.