Ruminant saliva: accessory proteins of homeostasis, olfaction and defence

Abstract

Mostly fed with grass in fresh or conserved form, cattle and other grazing ruminants such as goat, sheep and camels have to cope with two main disadvantages of their food. On one side, silicate defence bodies from plant cells (phytoliths), and environmental grit are supposed to abrade tooth enamel (Baker et al., 1959). Furthermore, it seems likely that these silicates could bind different important salivary proteins during mastication with yet indefinite effects on pH regulation, olfaction or anti-bacterial defence (Mau et al., 2006). However, the interactions of salivary proteins with inorganic food particles in free-ranging and livestock animals are still unknown.