Proteolytic Activity in the Oral Cavity: Proteolytic Enzymes from Human Saliva and Dental Plaque Material

The presence of proteolytic activity within the oral cavity is well known.'-3 Protease activity in rat and mouse submandibular glands has been demonstrated,45 and pro-teolytic activity in salivary glands of rodents has been studied.5'6 Although protease activity in human saliva also has been demonstrated, " 7 the origin and chemical characteristics of pro-teolytic enzymes in human saliva have not been studied sufficiently. The presence of proteolytic enzymes in dental plaque ma-terial has been reported by many investiga-tors.8,9 Leukocytes, regularly found in hu-man saliva, generally increase in number