Influência da amamentação nos fatores imunológicos salivares infantis

Abstract

Breastfeeding is considered the main source of nutrients for the baby and is recommended only for the first 6 months of life. The components present in milk, responsible for this nutritional importance, can be passed to the baby's saliva and oral cavity through breastfeeding. Thus, salivary fluid, despite being composed mostly of water, contain several immunological factors that can act in the protection of the baby and as biomarkers for numerous diseases and abnormal conditions in the child. The salivary collection has become a great ally for the tests with children, for being a noninvasive method. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of breastfeeding on salivary immunological factors. Thus, saliva from children between 6 and 71 months were collected, divided into two groups, breastfed for less and breastfed for more than 6 months of life. Immunological factors were quantified as total salivary protein, salivary amylase and superoxide dismutase enzyme activity (SOD). Although there was no statistical difference for amylase between the groups, the total salivary protein was higher in the non-breastfed group and the SOD enzyme activity was elevated in the group of breastfed children. It can be concluded that breast milk influences the immunological factors present in the saliva of children.