Evaluation of kallikrein in human parotid and submandibular saliva.

Saliva was collected from 10 subjects using a universal-design parotid collector and individually-adapted submandibular collectors. The enzymic activity of kallikrein was measured using D-leucylvalylarginine-p-nitroanilide as the substrate. Mean kallikrein activity was much higher in parotid saliva than in submandibular saliva; the difference was statistically significant. Protein concentrations were not significantly different, whereas alpha-amylase was, as expected, much higher in parotid saliva.