Evaluation of Salivary Alpha-Amylase Level in Patients with Recurrent Herpes Labialis

Recurrent herpes simplex labialis, also known as oral herpes, is one of the most common painful oral ulcers mostly observed on the oral mucosa or lips. On the other hand, salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) is a secretory protein which increases in stressful situations. The current study aimed to evaluate salivary alpha-amylase in patients with recurrent herpes labialis (RHL).

In this case-control study, the unstimulated saliva of 60 patients (30 patients with RHL and 30 controls) referred to Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry of Zahedan were collected. Salivary alpha- amylase levels were measured using spectrophotometry methods, and the obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 19) using t-test. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Theaverage levels of alpha-amylase in the saliva of patients with RHL and healthy individuals were reported at 459.68±192.05 U/L and 290.29±166.51 U/L, respectively. This difference was statistically significant (P=0.001).

As evidenced by the obtained results, the level of alpha-amylase enzyme was significantly higher in the recurrent period of herpes labialis, as compared to recovery period and the control group. This finding is indicative of a possible association between salivary alpha-amylase levels and herpes labialis.