Variations in the amylolytic power and compostition of the saliva

Abstract

Investigations concerning the variations in the character of the human saliva have had to do for the most part with those variations of the amylolytic power and composition which occur under normal conditions, and of the adaptation of the saliva to diets specific in character. In animals, however, the field of investigation has naturally broadened out considerably, and the questions of amylolytic power and of the many variations occurring under different conditions in the composition of the saliva, have been much more fully investigated. The effect or drugs upon the character of saliva, the amylolytic power especially, seems to have been almost entirely neglected. The well known effects of Atropine and Pilocarpine on the salivary glands, as regards quantity, should be extended to include the composition and digestive properties of the secretions as well. In the present paper I shall present some results obtained from studying the variations in the amylolytic power and composition of the human saliva after administration of these drugs.