A PhD Completed. Restoring saliva production and quality by means of olfactory stimulation and synthetic peptides
Saliva is essential for oral health. Factors such as medication, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and systemic diseases can reduce saliva production, which can lead to chronic dry mouth. This study focused on restoring both the quantity and quality of saliva. In a clinical study, healthy participants were exposed to volatiles from mastic resin and α-pinene, while those with chronic dry mouth were exposed only to mastic resin, significantly increasing saliva secretion in both groups. In patients with dry mouth, saliva quality increased after exposure to mastic resin volatiles as could be deduced from increased spinnbarkeit, pH, sodium and MUC5B concentrations. Additionally, synthetic peptides were developed to specifically bind MUC5B using the phage display technique. The presence of peptide MBP12 stabilized the spinnbarkeit of saliva in vitro. Experiments in epitope characterization revealed that MBP12 bound to the galactose residue of MUC5B. These findings suggest that olfactory stimuli of mastic resin and MUC5B-binding peptides are promising, non-invasive methods for treating chronic dry mouth.