A Serum Depressor of the Human Salivary Antilactobacillus Factor

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Three components have been shown to be necessary to demonstrate the antilactobacillus activity of saliva; namely, a non-dialyzable component of saliva, dialysate of saliva containing the cofactor thiocyanate, and the assay organism, L. acidophilus ATCC 4357. This investigation was concerned with the effect of serum on this antibacterial system. It was demonstrated that sera from rabbits and humans resulted in dimunition of the antilactobacillus activity of saliva, whereas, guinea pig, sheep and rat sera showed this effect to a lesser extent. Thiocyanate, the cofactor, neither formed a non-dialyzable complex nor was inactivated by the serum "depressor". The non-dialyzable component of the lactobacillus bactericidin was not irreversibly inactivated by the serum depressor when preincubated with it for 24 hours. The serum depressor was non-dialyzable and was absorbed on Bentonite.