262 The Physiological Role of Saliva 



excretory function. Substances such as iodide, thiocyanate, mer- 

 cury and lead are known to be secreted in the saliva; the same is 

 true for alkaloids like morphine (Munch, 1934) and antibiotics like 

 penicillin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol and aureomycin (Bender, 

 Pressman and Tashman, 1953). Ethyl alcohol is eliminated through 

 the salivary glands and its estimation in saliva has been recom- 

 mended for medico-legal purposes (Linde, 1932; Vollenbruck, 

 1937; Friedemann, Motel and Necheles, 1938). 



A comprehensive literature deals with the salivary glands as 

 possible endocrine organs. Attention has been paid particularly to 

 actions of the glands on carbohydrate metabolism. A special hor- 

 mone, parotin, has also been described acting on protein metabol- 

 ism and promoting the calcification of dentine ; it is further said to 

 increase the activity of choline acetylase (Takaoka, Yamaguchi and 

 Kosaka, 1952; Takaoka, Yamaguchi, Yamada and Kosaka, 1954; 

 Takaoka, Uono, Ninomiya, Yoshikawa, Yamada and Ishikawa, 



1955)- 



The finding that salivary glands, particularly those of humans, 



are rich in amine oxidase, has led to the hypothesis that the glands 

 might play a role in the destruction of amines in the blood 

 (Stromblad, 1959). 



REFERENCES 



albrechtsen, o. k. and J. h. thaysen (1955). Fibrinolytic activity in 



human saliva. Acta physiol. scand., 35, 138-145. 

 alexandrov, i. s. (1939). Quoted from Ber. ges. Physiol., 1940, 118, 576. 

 barbour, H. G. and b. P. freedman (1921). Effects of pilocarpine upon 



salivary secretion in normal and febrile dogs. Amer. J. Physiol., 57, 



387-394. 

 basir, M. A. and T. s. ramabhadran (1937). A study of human parotid 



saliva. Indian J. med. Res., 24, 911-916. 

 Baxter, H. (1933). Variations in the inorganic constituents of mixed and 



parotid gland saliva activated by reflex stimulation in the dog. J. biol. 



Chem., 102, 203-217. 

 beazell, J. m. (1941). A re-examination of the role of the stomach in the 



digestion of carbohydrate and protein. Amer. J. Physiol., 132, 42-50. 

 bender, 1. b., r. s. pressman and s. g. tashman (1953). Studies on excre- 

 tion of antibiotics in human saliva. Aureomycin. J. dent. Res., 32, 



435-439- 

 bergeim, o. (1926). Intestinal chemistry. III. Salivary digestion in the 



human stomach and intestines. Arch. int. Med., 37, 110-117. 

 bernfeld, p., a. staub and e. h. fischer (1948). Sur les enzymes amyloly- 



tiques. Helv. chim. acta, 31, 2 165-2 172. 

 bethge, J., k. soehring and r. tschesche (1947). Ueber die Rolle des 



