Influence of Tobacco Chewing and Smoking on the Salivary Total Antioxidant Power-A Clinical Comparative Study

Abstract

Introduction: Both smoking and tobacco chewing are associated with increased risk of oral cancer due to the imbalance in the free radicals and antioxidants. Saliva is the first biological medium encountered during tobacco chewing and smoking. Evaluation of total antioxidant power in saliva helps in understanding the risk of oral cancer. Aim: To assess the effect of tobacco chewing and smoking on salivary flow rate, pH and salivary total antioxidant power. Materials and Methods: A comparative study was done on male subjects (35-50 years old) accompanying the patients attending Narayana Medical and Dental Hospitals, Andhra Pradesh, India. Unstimulated saliva samples were collected from 45 subjects, categorised as chewers (15), smokers (15), and healthy controls (15) using spitting method. Salivary flow rate, pH and total antioxidant power were determined. The salivary total antioxidant power was measured by using Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used for comparison of three groups with respect to salivary total antioxidant power, flow rate, pH. Tukeys posthoc analysis was used for pairwise comparison of study groups with respect to salivary total antioxidant power, flow rate and pH. Results: Salivary total antioxidant power was lowest in tobacco chewers (407±48), compared to smokers (573±60) and controls (800±67). Salivary flow rate was lowest in tobacco chewers (1.43±0.70), compared to smokers (2.31±0.65) and controls (3.09±0.48). Salivary pH was lowest in tobacco chewers (6.34±0.25), compared to smokers (6.73±0.17) and controls (7.05±0.20). The mean difference between the three groups was statistically significant (<0.001). Conclusion: The evidence of the decreased salivary antioxidants in the tobacco chewers and smokers emphasises the role of smoking and tobacco chewing in the pathogenesis of oral cancers.

Keywords

• mouth neoplasms
• saliva
• tobacco products