This book covers current knowledge of the origins of various salivary compounds, their normal values, age dependency, relation to flow rate, diseases or hormonal status, and assay problems regarding human saliva. It discusses practical aspects of salivary analyses.

This is the first book for some years that provides a comprehensive overview of food oral processing including the biomechanics of swallowing, the biophysics of mouthfeel and texture as well as the biochemistry of flavours and how food microstructures can be manipulated.

Salivary Diagnostics surveys one of the most exciting areas of research in oral biology. Regarded as the mirror of the body, saliva has immense potential to yield real clinical improvements in our ability to diagnose, and hence treat, oral and systemic conditions. The composition of saliva and other oral fluids reflects the tissue fluid levels of therapeutic, hormonal, and immunological molecules, as well as the presence of markers for systemic and oral disease.

Saliva as a unique sample for health assessment is gaining attention among researchers of different fields in the last 20 years; being reflected in an impressive increase in the number of papers published studying saliva from different biological aspects in human and veterinary species. Once deemed merely a digestive juice is now considered a biological fluid capable of communicating information about physiopathological processes occurring in organisms, since saliva has been shown to contain molecular and bacterial compounds that can change in response to local and systemic pathologies. Furthermore, the interest of saliva as a diagnostic, prognostic and monitoring biofluid is forced by its non-invasive nature being of easy and inexpensive sampling, involving only minimal discomfort and allowing the collection of multiple/repeated specimens at anytime, anywhere and without need for specialized staff. In this contributed volume, the authors bring together, summarize and reflect the generated knowledge about saliva as a source of biomarkers for health and welfare evaluation in humans and animal models. This volume also highlights the importance of confounding factors, such as sampling methods, flow, total protein content, contamination, or storage. This book will serve as a manual for graduates, practitioners and researchers by providing general ideas about the possibilities and utilities of saliva in clinical practice or investigation, and indicating the main cautions each should have in mind before saliva usage.

This book covers the current knowledge of salivary compounds, their normal values, age dependency, diseases or hormonal status and assay problems, and is helpful for scientists and clinicians with the relevant information needed in planning, performing, and interpreting saliva analyses.

This book provides the first comprehensive overview of the emerging field of interdisciplinary salivary bioscience. It serves as a foundational reference guide to the collection, analysis, and interpretation of salivary data, as well as its myriad applications in medicine, surveillance and public health. The ease and non-invasive nature of saliva collection makes it highly useful in diverse fields such as pediatrics, dentistry, neuroscience, psychology, animal welfare and precision medicine. This book introduces students and scientists alike to the vast potential of salivary bioscience in both research and practice.

This book covers the current knowledge of salivary compounds, their normal values, age dependency, diseases or hormonal status and assay problems, and is helpful for scientists and clinicians with the relevant information needed in planning, performing, and interpreting saliva analyses.