Yaegaki K, Sanada K
Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Nippon Dental University, Niigata, Japan.
J Periodontol. 1992 Sep;63(9):783-9. doi: 10.1902/jop.1992.63.9.783.
The amounts of volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) and methyl mercaptan/hydrogen sulfide ratio in mouth air from patients with periodontal involvement were 8 times greater than those of control subjects. Our studies demonstrated that, in patients with periodontal disease: 1) the concentration of disulfide, which is converted to VSC, increased in proportion to the total pocket depth; 2) 60% of the VSC was produced from the tongue surface; 3) the amount of tongue coating was 4 times greater than in control subjects; and 4) VSC production and the methyl mercaptan/hydrogen sulfide ratio of the tongue coating were increased. 2-Ketobutyrate, which is a byproduct of the metabolism of methionine to methyl mercaptan, was higher in the saliva of patients with periodontal disease. This implies that metabolism of methionine to methyl mercaptan increases in the oral cavity of patients with periodontal pockets. Since free L-methionine, rather than protein, is the main source for methyl mercaptan, we estimated the methionine supply from the gingival fluid into the oral cavity of patients with periodontal involvement. The results showed that the ratio of methionine to whole free amino acids was significantly higher than that of cysteine. Our studies suggest that not only microorganisms, but also the tongue coating and gingival fluid are factors which enhance VSC production in patients with periodontal disease.
患有牙周疾病的患者口腔空气中挥发性硫化合物（VSC）的含量以及甲硫醇/硫化氢的比例比对照组高出8倍。我们的研究表明，在患有牙周疾病的患者中：1）转化为VSC的二硫化物浓度与牙周袋总深度成正比增加；2）60%的VSC由舌面产生；3）舌苔量比对照组高4倍；4）舌苔的VSC生成量和甲硫醇/硫化氢比例增加。作为蛋氨酸代谢为甲硫醇的副产物，2-酮丁酸在牙周疾病患者的唾液中含量更高。这意味着在有牙周袋的患者口腔中，蛋氨酸代谢为甲硫醇的过程增加。由于游离L-蛋氨酸而非蛋白质是甲硫醇的主要来源，我们估算了龈沟液向患有牙周疾病患者口腔中供应蛋氨酸的情况。结果显示，蛋氨酸与全部游离氨基酸的比例显著高于半胱氨酸。我们的研究表明，不仅微生物，舌苔和龈沟液也是增加牙周疾病患者VSC生成的因素。
