Saliva sampling method influences oral microbiome composition and taxa associated with oral diseases
Roca et al.
The finding, in our words
An analysis of 88 individuals aged 7 to 18 years found that stimulated saliva collection detected disease-associated microbiome taxa that unstimulated sampling missed. The authors note that sampling protocols must be standardised before results can be compared across decentralised studies.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Saliva samples collected using the OMNIgene ORAL device and oral wash samples remain stable for microbiome diversity and relative abundance analyses for up to five years when stored at -80°C. This supports the use of these self-collection methods for long-term prospective biobanking and decentralised clinical studies.
A validated LC-MS/MS assay successfully measured 13 steroid hormones and two synthetic steroids in saliva, requiring only 50 microlitres, or down to 2 to 5 microlitres for nine analytes. This shows saliva's viability for non-invasive, patient-centric microsampling and decentralised monitoring in paediatric, neonatal and adult populations.
The study developed a curcumin-embedded paper sensor for bilirubin detection in saliva, coupled with an IoT-enabled hand-held reader. Clinical testing in 18 jaundiced infants demonstrated good correlation with reference methods for both salivary and blood bilirubin, indicating utility for decentralised neonatal jaundice monitoring.
Across 18 saliva samples, mouthwash collection gave higher alpha diversity than passive drooling on both Illumina and Nanopore platforms, and three preservation methods performed alike; mouthwash and simple collection are convenient decentralised options, provided a study keeps one collection method for all participants to avoid confounding.
During ACTH stimulation, salivary cortisol correlated only weakly with serum and gave modest accuracy: saliva does not reliably replace serum cortisol for adrenal insufficiency. A concrete limit.