title: Spectrophotometric assessment of salivary β-galactosidases in halitosis.
abstract: The aim of this work was to develop a spectrophotometric method for the measurement of salivary β-galactosidase for the evaluation of oral malodor. A comparison between different methods for estimating oral malodor has been conducted on 94 healthy adult volunteers. For organoleptic measurements, the subjects were instructed to exhale briefly through the mouth at a distance of approximately 10 cm from the noses of two trained judges. The evaluation of β-galactosidase activity was accomplished in unstimulated whole saliva of all participants through the colorimetric method and spectrophotometry. A significant association among spectrophotometric evaluation of β-galactosidase and organoleptic measurements was assessed by Spearman correlations. Although colorimetric and spectrophotometric assessments of β-galactosidases were estimated to have the same sensitivity, the last method is characterized by a higher specificity. The results suggest that the use of the UV-vis spectrophotometer increases the specificity of the evaluation of salivary β-galactosidases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Sciences, Nano and Biotechnology, University of Chieti, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petrini
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Trentini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferrante
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: D'Alessandro
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006209:Halitosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D001616:beta-Galactosidase