Xerostomia Health Dictionary

The ?uid secreted by the SALIVARY GLANDS into the mouth. The ingestion of food stimulates saliva production. Saliva contains mucus and an ENZYME known as PTYALIN, which changes starch into dextrose and maltose (see DIGESTION); also many cells of di?erent types. About 750 millilitres are produced daily.

The principal function of saliva is to aid in the initial processes of digestion, and it is essential for the process of mastication (chewing), whereby food is reduced to an homogeneous mass before being swallowed. In addition, the ptyalin in the saliva initiates the digestion of starch in the food.

An excessive ?ow of saliva known as salivation occurs as the result of taking certain drugs. Salivation also occurs as the result of irritation in the mouth – as for instance, in the teething child – and from DYSPEPSIA. De?ciency of saliva is known as XEROSTOMIA.... saliva

A disorder of CONNECTIVE TISSUE, with dryness of the mouth (xerostomia) and dryness of the eye (kerato conjunctivitis sicca) occurring in association with RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. It occurs in approximately 10 per cent of patients with the latter condition, but it can occur – and frequently does so – independently of rheumatoid disease. The lack of tears gives rise to symptoms of dryness and grittiness of the eyes; the dry mouth can occasionally be so severe as to cause a DYSPHAGIA. The disease is due to the autoimmune destruction of the SALIVARY GLANDS and the lacrimal glands (see EYE – Lacrimal apparatus). The disorder is usually associated with speci?c HLA antigen (see HLA SYSTEM). Treatment is unsatisfactory and is limited to oral and ocular hygiene as well as the provision of arti?cial tears in the form of cellulose eye drops.... sjogren’s syndrome

DC.

Synonym: S. acmella auct. non (L.) Murr.

S. paniculata auct. non-DC. S. pseudoacmella auct. non (L.) Murr.

Family: Asteraceae.

Habitat: Tropical and sub-tropical parts of India, in waste places and open moist fields.

English: Paracress.

Ayurvedic: Marahattikaa.

Folk: Marethi, Desi Akarkaraa.

Action: Plant—antidysenteric. Decoction, diuretic and lithotriptic, also used in scabies and psoriasis. Seeds—used in xerostomia, throat infections and neurological affection of tongue. Root—purgative.

Whole plant gave alpha-and beta- amyrin ester, myricyl alcohol, stigmas- terol and its glucoside. A tincture made from flower heads is used as a substitute for the tincture of pyrethrum to treat inflammation of jaw-bones and caries.

Ethanolic extracts of the herb were found to affect the blood pressure of dogs and cats, and also the isolated ileum of guinea pigs. Spilanthol, obtained from the ether as well as pen- tane extracts, shows a strong sialogogic action, acts as a local anaesthetic and a powerful insecticide.... spilanthes calva

a condition that occurs as a result of reduced salivary flow from a variety of causes, including therapeutic agents, *Sjögren’s syndrome, connective?tissue diseases, diabetes, excision or absence of a major salivary gland, or radiotherapy to the head and neck that destroys the salivary glands. It causes swallowing and speech difficulties, inflamed gums, an increased incidence of dental caries, and loss of denture stability in people who have lost their teeth. Patients with their own teeth should be given strict dietary advice, chlorhexidine or fluoride mouthwashes, and sugar-free nonacidic saliva substitutes; they require special monitoring by their dentist. Medical name: xerostomia.... dry mouth