Introduction: Calcium is a critical mineral. It is utilized by our body for blood pressure stability as well as building strong bones and teeth. It is completely utilized by the salivary glands for its secretory function induction. Low calcium intake leads to an increase in adipocytes formation and decrease in maturation, fusion, and exocytosis of the salivary granules therefore destruction in the gland function and structure.
Aim: Investigation of the role of low calcium diet on the histological structure of rat submandibular salivary glands.
Materials and Methods: Thirty adult male albino rats were haphazardly divided into 2 groups equally. Control group I, Low calcium diet group II. The animals in groups I ate normal diet while those in group II were fed low calcium diet for 8 weeks. All animals were sacrificed, at the end of the experiment and the calcium serum level was measured. submandibular salivary glands were dissected and assembled for histological, immunohistochemichal and ultra-structural analysis.
Results: Group II demonstrated dramatic loss of the acinar cell arrangement, vacuolization in cytoplasm, and shrunken nuclei. Significant fibrosis around the duct system was seen. A prominent increase in the α-SMA immunoreaction was seen at the peripheral part of acini and inter-lobular ducts.
Conclusion: This current research suggests that there is a prominent correlation
between low calcium food consumption and histological and functional alterations in the submandibular salivary glands.