SALIVARY COLLECTION GUIDELINES
GENERAL PROCEDURES
Subjects should ideally refrain from eating during the sampling period. If this is not possible, subjects should be permitted to eat immediately after a collection only and rinse their mouths with water 15 minutes before the next collection.
Avoid beverages containing artificial colorants as well as alcoholic beverages during the sampling period. Coffee is not permitted - it is counter indicated in sleep studies anyway. In view of some recent reports on melatonin in some foods, it is suggested that bananas should not be eaten during the sampling period.
Subjects should avoid brushing their teeth, with or without toothpaste, during sampling periods. It is likely that subjects with gingivitis will contaminate the saliva with plasma or even whole blood leading to unknown consequences.
Do not add sodium azide to saliva samples as a preservative. Samples visibly contaminated with blood should be recollected. Freeze at -200C or lower for long-term storage.
TESTOSTERONE
The preferred saliva collection method is by unstimulated passive drool, using a short plastic straw for expectorating into a plastic tube. Do not use any cotton absorbent material, such as Salivettes, Sorbettes and cotton ropes or swabs to collect samples as false high readings will result. Do not use polyester versions of the Salivette device, or the Salisaver device.
Note: According to Dabbs (1991a)*, when carefully applied, chewing Trident original flavor sugarless gum is a viable sample collection technique. The recommendation is that subjects chew for at least 3 minutes (and swallow the saliv) before collecting the sample to minimize the rise in testosterone that was seen with the increased flow rate in the first few minutes after chewing.*
PROGESTERONE, ESTRADIOL
The preferred saliva collection method is by unstimulated passive drool, using a short plastic straw for expectorating into a glass tube. Do not use any cotton absorbent material, such as Salivettes, Sorbettes and cotton ropes or swabs to collect samples as false high readings will result. Do not use polyester versions of the Salivette device, or the Salisaver device.
CORTISOL
The preferred saliva collection method is to use plain (non-citric acid) cotton Salivettes, P/N 5001, by Sarstedt. Samples may also be collected using Sorbettes, P/N 5029 (for infants) or cotton ropes, P/N 5016 or by passive drool, using a short plastic straw for expectorating into a plastic tube.
MELATONIN
The preferred saliva collection method is by unstimulated passive drool, using a short plastic straw for expectorating into a plastic tube. Can also collect saliva using the BÜHLMANN Saliva Collection Device (Order Code: 006-MEL/B-SCD1) from American Laboratory Products (ALPCO).
When collecting saliva
at night, a dim flash light or a =100 lux yellow light should be used in
order to avoid a possible light influence on the melatonin profile.
*Reference:
Dabbs, J.M., Jr. (1991a). Salivary testosterone measurements: Collecting, storing, and mailing saliva samples. Physiol. and Behav. 49, 815-817.