Retention of specific yolk IgY in the human oral cavity.

Introduction: The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria emphasises the need for new treatments that can replace traditional antibiotics. Oral immunotherapy with yolk antibodies from hyperimmunised hens is a new promising treatment strategy, primarily for infections in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract. Several studies show that bacterial and viral infections can be prevented with egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) in a dose-dependent manner. Oral treatment could potentially be used against many frequently encountered diseases (e.g. common cold, tonsillitis and caries). GROUP STUDIED: Healthy volunteers.

Study Design: We studied the presence of yolk anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa antibodies in saliva from healthy volunteers over time after 1 or 2 minutes' mouth rinse, performed in the evening, with an aqueous IgY antibody preparation. The test persons rinsed the mouth with 8.0ml phosphate buffered saline before gargling with the antibody preparation 8 and 24 hours later. Statistical analysis was performed with the Mann-Whitney U test.

Methods: The antibody titres in the mouth rinses were tested for their specific activity against P. aeruginosa by ELISA.

Results And Conclusion: The next morning there were still active antibodies detected in the saliva from 18 of 19 subjects. After 24 hours, active antibodies could be detected in saliva from only a few of the subjects. A 2-minute mouth rinse resulted in higher mean ELISA absorbance values than a 1-minute rinse.