CADAVERINE AS A PUTATIVE COMPONENT OF ORAL MALODOR

Whereas previous studies have shown correlations between Volatile sulp hur compounds (VSC) and bad breath levels, it is probable that other c ompounds found in the oral cavity may contribute to oral malodor. In t he present investigation, the possibility that diamines (cadaverine an d putrescine) are associated with oral malodor parameters was assessed . Saliva samples from 52 subjects were analyzed for cadaverine and put rescine by HPLC. Oral malodor of whole mouth, tongue, and saliva of th e subjects was recorded by an experienced judge on a continuous 10-cm scale; peak and steady-state VSC intraoral levels were measured by the Interscan 1170 sulphide monitor. Log-transformed VSC and diamine leve ls were compared with odor judge measurements by Pearson analysis and stepwise forward multiple regression. Putrescine scores were not signi ficantly associated with odor judge parameters or with VSC levels (p > 0.1). However, highly significant correlations (p less than or equal to 0.003) were found between cadaverine levels and all three odor judg e assessments. In contrast, associations between cadaverine and VSC me asurements were non-significant. In an attempt to correlate odor judge results in terms of both VSC and diamines, we carried out stepwise fo rward multiple regression. Results showed that VSC and cadaverine both factor significantly in explaining each oi the odor judge measurement s, with multiple r values ranging from 0.545 (p = 0.0002) to 0.604 (p < 0.0001). The results suggest that cadaverine levels are associated w ith oral malodor, and that this association may be independent of VSC.