A STUDY OF ASCORBIC ACID IN HUMAN SALIVA

The concentrations of ascorbic acid in mixed submandibular and sublingual saliva and in parotid duct saliva collected from 37 subjects after a 12-hr fast were estimated by the dinitrophenylhydrazine method, and found to be, on the average, 0.71 μg/ml (S.D., 0.56) and 0.91 μg/ml (S.D., 0.94), respectively. The rate of secretion of the ascorbic acid was, on the average, 0.14 μg/min (S.D., 0.17) for the submandibular and sublingual glands, and 0.59 μg/min (S.D., 0.89) for the parotid gland. After an oral dose of 500 mg the ascorbic acid concentration of parotid saliva revealed a significant rising trend 2, 4, and 6 hr after the administration, with maximum content in the 6-hr samples. © 1969.