>>Last time I looked, saliva contained enzymnes to break down starches -
salivary amylases.  This does not kick in in infants until around 6 months.
There are no significant proteolytic enzymnes in saliva - otherwise kissing
would be very hazardous!
        Nipple damage is much more likely to be due to friction - especially
from the infant's tongue - than from saliva. <<

Catherine, I agree with you.  I never did get to personally examine the
mother who had been referred to me, but the nurses in the hospital called me
in their amazement because they couldn't see anything wrong with the latch.
They described the situation as looking as if the nipple were dissolving on
contact, a bloody mass of tissue in a matter of a couple of feeds.  Mother
said this happened with her first baby, too.  Baby would have had to have
acid saliva to accomplish this...... wish I could've viewed it firsthand.

-Lisa Marasco, LLLL, IBCLC
Santa Maria, CA