Morphological alterations in salivary glands of mice (Mus musculus) submitted to tannin enriched diets: comparison with sialotrophic effects of sympathetic agonists stimulation

In order to study the effects of tannins at histomorphological level, mice were either fed with three structurally different types of tannins (tannic acid, chestnut, and quebracho) or treated with isoproterenol, during 10 days. Acini of parotid and submandibular glands increased significantly, being the increase higher for parotid compared to submandibular glands, and higher in the quebracho compared with the other tannin groups. Sublingual acinar size also increased after tannin consumption, by opposition to isoproterenol-treated animals. The results present evidences that the effects produced by tannins are dependent on their structure.