Salivary Reduction of Dietary Nitrate
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- abstract
- Nitric oxide (NO) is an important cellular signaling molecule known mostly for its vasodilatative effects. Nitrate (NO3-) acts as an important NO source through reductive physiological pathways. Basal plasma NO3- levels are a sum of the oxidation of endogenous NO and ingested dietary NO3-. Approximately 25% of dietary NO3- is recovered by the salivary glands and concentrated up to 20-fold in saliva. Humans possess symbiotic NO3- reductase activity from the anaerobic bacteria (Actinomyces and Veillonella) species found in the tongue’s cleft. Preliminary genomic analyses of these species indicate the lack of nitrite (NO2-) reductase ortholog genes suggesting dissimilatory NO3- reduction. The goal of Aim 1 of this research was to investigate and fully characterize the reduction of dietary NO3- to reduced nitrogen oxides in the oral cavity.
- subject
- Dietary Nitrate
- Nitrate
- Nitric Oxide
- Nitrite
- Nitrogen Oxide
- Saliva
- contributor
- King, Stephen B (committee chair)
- Kim-Shapiro, Daniel (committee member)
- Welker, Mark E (committee member)
- DosSantos, Patricia (committee member)
- Bierbach, Ulrich (committee member)
- date
- 2015-08-25T08:35:36Z (accessioned)
- 2016-08-24T08:30:10Z (available)
- 2015 (issued)
- degree
- Chemistry (discipline)
- embargo
- 2016-08-24 (terms)
- identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10339/57269 (uri)
- language
- en (iso)
- publisher
- Wake Forest University
- title
- Salivary Reduction of Dietary Nitrate
- type
- Dissertation