Figure 4.

Isolation of active anti–Streptococcus mutans fraction from whole saliva from a subject with localized aggressive periodontitis. (A) Peak obtained when fraction 19 was eluted from saliva derived from a subject with localized aggressive periodontitis with salivary activity against S. mutans. Whole saliva was applied to S. mutans affinity column, and then fractions were collected after treatment with glycine hydrochloride for elution of fractions bound to S. mutans. (B) Activity of fraction 19 and its ability to prevent the growth of S. mutans by almost 2 logs as compared to phosphate buffered saline (PBS) control. Fraction 23 reduces growth by <1 log, and fraction 26 shows no reduction. (C) Fraction 19 was applied to a filter paper disc, which was then placed over a confluent inoculum of S. mutans grown on a mitis salivarius agar plate. Two days later, a zone of inhibition was seen around the filter disc coated with fraction 19 added to either PBS or normal saliva. Note that “normal” saliva without fraction 19 added has no anti–S. mutans activity. CFU, colony-forming unit; LAP, localized aggressive periodontitis.