Effect of short-term use of FFP2 mask on salivary metabolome of young healthy volunteers: A pilot study.

Use of face mask has become an integral part of public life in the post-pandemic era. However, the understanding of the effect of wearing mask on physiology remains incomplete and is required for informing public health policies. Earlier studies indicated changes in breath and blood gas composition upon wearing FFP2 mask. For the first time, we report analysis of the effect of wearing FFP2 mask on metabolic composition of saliva, a proximal matrix to breath. Un-induced saliva was collected from healthy volunteers (n =10) before and after wearing FFP2 mask for 30 minutes and analyzed. Results showed that such short-term mask use did not cause any significant change in heart rate, pulse rate and SpO 2 . The individuality of overall salivary metabotype was found to be robust and unaffected by mask use. There were marginal increases in relative abundances of L-fucose, 5-aminovaleric acid, putrescine, phloretic acid and benzenepropionic acid. Results indicated that while there were no adverse changes in physiological parameters and salivary metabotype, mask use was associated with changes in microbial metabolic activity. Consequences of such changes remain to be examined. However, these might explain change in odour perception that was reported to be associated with mask use.