Salivary total antioxidant activity as a non invasive biomarker for oxidative stress in asthmatic patients.

ABSTRACT

Background: Bronchial Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease along with hyperresponsiveness of bronchi. The present study was designed to assess the redox status of patients suffering from bronchial asthma and to compare it with that of normal healthy controls, by determining the total antioxidant activity (AOA) of the serum and saliva and correlating it with the disease status. Method: Total AOA was assayed spectrophotometrically in saliva and serum of two groups; asthmatic patients attending OPD of pulmonary Medicine and healthy controls. The patients were followed for a period of three months after start of therapy and total AOA was measured post therapy. Results: Asthmatic patients exhibited significantly(p<0.05) decreased serum and salivary total AOA as compared to healthy controls. Decreased contents of total AOA in serum and saliva was positively correlated with the severity of disease process. Total AOA in serum was significantly (p<0.0001) higher than salivary AOA in all the categories of asthmatic patients. Total AOA in serum was significantly (p<0.0001) higher than that in saliva of the control subjects. The depressed total AOA returned to near normal values post treatment. In Conclusion: Total AOA in serum and saliva is a good indicator for assessing the severity and progress of bronchial asthma. Salivary total AOA can be taken as a potential biomarker for oxidative stress in asthmatic patients.