title: Effect of chronic tobacco use on salivary concentrations of sodium and potassium.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Most of the methods of tobacco are use linked to the oral cavity where the taste receptors, a primary site for stimulation of salivary secretion, are constantly exposed to tobacco. It is generally believed that repeated exposure of a receptor to a stimulus results in inactivation (suppression) of the receptor. The present study was designed to document changes in salivary concentrations of sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) in response to this effect in chronic tobacco users.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects of the study were divided into smokers, pan (tobacco-betel-lime quid) chewers, niswar (moist oral snuff) differs and non tobacco users as controls. The saliva of each subject was collected under resting condition and following application of crude nicotine and citric acid solutions to the tip of his tongue.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After stimulation with nicotine all groups exhibited an increase in sodium concentration but the increase was significant (p < 0.05) in pan chewers only. However all groups showed a highly significant (p < 0.005) increase in sodium concentration after citric acid stimulation. No statistically significant (p > 0.05) decrease in potassium concentration was observed in any group after nicotine stimulation but all chronic tobacco user groups showed a highly significant (p < 0.005) decrease after citric acid stimulation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude the sodium concentration increases and that of potassium decreases with the increase in salivary flow rates and this observation in chronic tobacco users was not much different from that in non tobacco users.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar.
authors.forename: Ghulam Jillani
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Rashid
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mehmood
authors.lastname: Salah-ud-Din
authors.lastname: Ihtesham-ul-Haq
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism; D064424:Tobacco Use / Q000009:adverse effects; D009538:Nicotine / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D011188:Potassium; D012964:Sodium; D009538:Nicotine