Effects of Exercise, Games, and Dance on Trace Element Concentrations in Human Saliva

Abstract

Physical activities and sports are an essential part of our life. The interest of the younger generation in physical health is rapidly increasing. Therefore, there is also a need to identify and correct sport-linked misbalances and mineral imbalances. Saliva is an easy-to-collect, harmless biological fluid that might help us. Exercise is known to affect the trace elements level in biological substances. We aimed to highlight the significance of saliva as a mineral status biomarker. Sixty-eight healthy subjects participated in the study. Twenty-nine participants performed exercises, 26 played cricket games, and 13 participated in dance activities. Saliva samples were taken just before and after all three activities. Sixteen elements were analysed through inductively coupled plasma‒mass spectrometry (ICP‒MS). Among the 16 elements, four, namely, sodium (Na), boron (B), potassium (K), and iron (Fe), significantly varied. A substantial increase in trace element concentrations in saliva (p < 0.05) was observed after games (Fe), dances (Na, K, and Fe), and exercise activities (p < 0.05) (B, Na, and K). A significant decrease (p < 0.05) in the trace element concentration in saliva was observed after cricket (B) activity, and a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the Fe concetration was observed after exercise activity. Our study highlights the use of saliva as a potential biomarker for mineral status evaluation. Saliva might be a beneficial tool for correcting mineral-associated imbalances in sports. If we successfully identify mineral deficiency through saliva, then there are also chances to diagnose mineral-based deficiency diseases at an early stage. To achieve this goal, further detailed research is needed. More research with a large population size is needed, considering the effects of changes in the intensity and regularity of physical activities on saliva composition and the associations of trace elements with health conditions.