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Music stimuli lead to increased levels of nitrite in unstimulated mixed saliva

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Abstract

Concentration of salivary nitrate is approximately 10-fold to that of serum. Many circumstances such as acute stress could promote salivary nitrate secretion and nitrite formation. However, whether other conditions can also be used as regulators of salivary nitrate/nitrite has not yet been explored. The present study was designed to determine the influence of exposure to different music on the salivary flow rate and nitrate secretion and nitrite formation. Twenty-four undergraduate students (12 females and 12 males) were exposed to silence, rock music, classical music or white noise respectively on four consecutive mornings. The unstimulated salivary flow rate and stimulated salivary flow rate were measured. Salivary ionic (Na+, Ca2+ Cl−, and PO43−) content and nitrate/nitrite levels were detected. The unstimulated salivary flow rate was significantly increased after classical music exposure compared to that after silence. Salivary nitrite levels were significantly higher upon classical music and white noise stimulation than those under silence in females. However, males were more sensitive only to white noise with regard to the nitrite increase. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that classical music stimulation promotes salivary nitrite formation and an increase in saliva volume was observed. These observations may play an important role in regulating oral function.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to all study participants. We are very grateful to Dr. Alexander Cain, Mucosal Immunology Section, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA, for his critical reading of this manuscript. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81400527, 91649124, 81300896), the Beijing Municipality Government (Beijing Scholar Program PXM2016_014226_000034, PXM2016_014226_000006, PXM2015_014226_000116, PXM2015_ 014226_000055, PXM2015_014226_000052, PXM2014_014226_000048, PXM2014_014226_000013, PXM2014_014226_000053, Z12110000-5212004, PXM2013_014226_000055, PXM2013_014226_000021, PXM2013_014226_07_000080 and TJSHG201310025005), the 2016 QNRC001 Young Elite Scientist Sponsorship Program by CAST (2016 QNRC001), the Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals’ Youth Programme (QML20151402), Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation (7142069) and Beijing NOVA program (2015B062 to Junji Xu).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Salivary Gland Disease Center and Beijing Key Laboratory of Tooth Regeneration and Function Reconstruction, Capital Medical University School of Stomatology, Beijing, 100050, China

    Luyuan Jin, Mengbi Zhang, Junji Xu, Chunmei Zhang, Jingsong Wang & Songlin Wang

  2. Department of General Dentistry and Emergency Care, Capital Medical University School of Stomatology, Beijing, 100050, China

    Luyuan Jin & Dengsheng Xia

  3. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Capital Medical University School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100069, China

    Songlin Wang

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  1. Luyuan Jin
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Correspondence to Songlin Wang.

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Figure S1. Physical indices for human volunteers under sound stimulation

. There were no significant changes in heart rate (a) or systolic (b) and diastolic (c) blood pressure after sound stimulation. Values are presented as the mean±SE, n=24.

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Jin, L., Zhang, M., Xu, J. et al. Music stimuli lead to increased levels of nitrite in unstimulated mixed saliva. Sci. China Life Sci. 61, 1099–1106 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-018-9309-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-018-9309-3

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