Activities of some salivary enzymes in moderate to severe periodontal disease: A preliminary study

Host responses to periodontal diseases include the production of different enzymes such as aspartate and alanine aminotransferase (AST and ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), and alkaline and acid phosphatase (ALP and ACP). The aim of the present study was to compare the salivary levels of AST, ALT, LDH, CK, ALP and ACP in healthy subjects and patients with periodontitis. In this descriptive/cross-sectional study, the salivary activities of AST, ALT, ALP, ACP, LDH and CPK were evaluated in 14 healthy subjects and 40 patients with moderate-to-severe periodontal disease and the relationship between salivary levels of these enzymes and severity of periodontal disease was determined. Periodontal disease was diagnosed based on routine clinical parameters by a dentist. Activity of the enzymes was determined using standard laboratory kits. Data were analyzed with Student’s t-test using SPSS 18 (α= 0.05). The mean enzyme levels in healthy subjects and in patients with moderate and severe periodontitis were 47.36, 69.07 and 126.84 IU for AST; 23.95, 40.08 and 59.33 IU for ALT; 8.34, 14.23 and 35.06 IU for ALP; 20.61, 33.18 and 72.69 IU for ACP; 439.41, 544.50 and 553.90 for LDH; and 3.54, 4.90 and 5.85 IU for CPK, respectively. The results showed statistically significant increases in activity of salivary enzymes in patients with periodontal diseases in comparison to the control group (p value < 0.01). In addition, there was a positive correlation between the activity of the salivary enzymes examined and pocket depths (p value = 0.01). The results of the present study showed a significant correlation between the salivary activities of these enzymes and periodontal diseases. Therefore such assays can be used as biochemical markers for the diagnosis and prognosis of and the effect of treatment on periodontal tissue diseases.