Background: Binge eating episodes in persons with bulimia nervosa may to some extent be a result of disturbed sensations of hunger and satiety. It has been hypothesized that abnormal appetite sensations may be due to bulimia nervosa-related alterations in the release of hormones that are known to be involved in the physiologic regulation of appetite and metabolism.

Objective: The objective was to investigate whether circulating concentrations of the appetite-regulating peptides leptin and ghrelin and markers of metabolism (glucose and insulin) are different in persons with bulimia nervosa than in controls before and after intake of a meal and whether these changes may be reflected in saliva.

Design: Twenty women with bulimia nervosa and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls participated. After an overnight fast, the subjects ate a standardized carbohydrate-rich breakfast. Whole saliva and blood were collected, and visual analogue scales for hunger and satiety were completed once before and continuously for 5 h after the breakfast.

Results: A lower pre- and postprandial whole saliva flow rate was found in subjects with bulimia nervosa, which might have been attributable to a concomitant intake of potentially xerogenic medication. Subjects with bulimia nervosa experienced reduced hunger, which could not be explained by pre- or postprandial alterations in circulating ghrelin, leptin, insulin, or glucose concentrations.

Conclusions: There were no apparent differences in the composition of blood and saliva between bulimia nervosa and control subjects, and meal-induced compositional changes in blood were not directly mirrored in saliva composition.