Study of Salivary Enzymes in Oral Lesions

Aim and objective Saliva contains different enzymes, which reflect metabolic activities of the body. Certain enzymes, such as, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) enzymes are products of cell injury and cell death. Some benign oral conditions having malignant potential and therefore early changes in salivary enzyme level may be helpful for the early detection of malignancy. An attempt is made to compare salivary enzyme levels (AST and ALT) in benign oral lesions in tobacco addicts, malignant oral lesions in tobacco addicts, and healthy non-tobacco addict patients with age- and sex-matched control group. Material and methods A retrospective study of 150 patients with benign and malignant oral lesions with tobacco addiction was done. Control group includes tobacco non-addicts. The oral lesion was noted. Biopsy of oral lesion was sent to histopathology for diagnosis. The saliva of all patients was collected for salivary enzymes (AST and ALT) examination. Levels of salivary enzymes (AST and ALT) in benign and malignant oral lesions of patients with tobacco addiction and tobacco non-addict control group without any oral lesions with age- and sex-matched study group were included in the study. The results were analyzed statistically by Student's t-test. Results Salivary enzymes (AST and ALT) were not significantly increased in benign and malignant oral lesions in tobacco addict patients. Conclusion Salivary enzymes were increased in all benign and malignant oral lesions in tobacco consumers. There was no significant increase in salivary enzymes in all benign and malignant oral lesions in tobacco consumers. Clinical significance Research is going on salivary biomarkers, but these salivary biomarkers lack sensitivity and specificity and cannot be applied. How to cite this article Chavan RP, Ingole SM, Dalvi SM. Study of Salivary Enzymes in Oral Lesions. Int J Otorhinolaryngol Clin 2020;12(1):1–3.