Saliva, risk measurement

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has characterized "[t]he general aim of metabolomics. .. to identify, measure and interpret the complex, time-related concentration, activity and flux of endogenous metabolites in cells, tissues and other biosamples such as blood, urine and saliva."3 Taken together, the three "omics" disciplines represent a systemic and powerful approach to mapping cellular networks, allowing for faster and more predictive biology in terms of risk assessment, potential therapeutic benefit, as well as diagnosis. 

The relative vulnerability of the secreted zinc to phytate complexatlon has only recently been demonstrated. The injection p zinc deficient rats intraperitoneally with a tracer dose of zlnc allows a portion of this zinc to be in equilibrium with the endogenous metabolic pool. This zinc then is secreted thru the saliva, pancreatic fluid, and bile. Those animals maintained on the phytate containing soy protein contained 2-4 times the radioactivity of the animals fed a casein protein diet (Table II). Therefore, not only does phytate affect the bioavailability of dietary zinc but also the reabsorption of endogenous zinc and thus has a net effect on zinc homeostasis. Since this total phytate effect cannot be measured ly labeling only the dietary pool, the expression of the net effect as the phytateizinc molar ratio is the most sensitive and accurate method of estimating the relative risk of zinc deficiency in any individual or population. 

Antioxidants counteract oxidative stress and thereby lower the risk of the chronic and degenerative diseases (Figure 11.2) [4,10]. Human sahva is rich in antioxidants, such as uric acid, albumin, vitamin C and enzymes, which can be used as biomarkers in the measurement of oxidative stress in the oral cavity [13]. Since oxidative stress in the oral cavity can also be linked to certain systemic diseases [12], measiu-ement of these biomarkers in saliva may provide an accurate indicator of oxidative stress in the body [13]. 

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