Utility of Salivary Biochemical Parameters for the Assessment of Mental Workload from Harvesting and Binding Work of Komatsuna as an Example of Farm Labor

Abstract

In this study, the utility of salivary biochemical parameters that have been known to indicate mental workload in humans for assessing mental workload from farm labor was studied. The farm labor included harvesting and binding komatsuna (Brassica rapa L. Perviridis Group). Saliva samples were taken during a 120-minute period of labor and performed quantitative analysis of salivary α-amylase, cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone and immunoglobulin A to identify the occurrence of any changes in these parameters with farm labor. It was found that α-amylase activity was increased significantly with farm work. These results suggest that α-amylase activity could serve as an effective evaluation index for assessing mental workload from farm labor.