By Vick Karunakaran
Intimate kissing lasting 10 seconds can transfer as many as 80-million bacteria between partners, according to a new study.
The study by researchers in the Netherlands, published in Microbiome Journal studied the oral samples of 21 couples.
The research showed that relatively frequent kissing resulted in similar oral microbiota between couples.
Microbiota is the colony of microorganisms inhabiting a region which in this case is the mouth.
Mouth-to-mouth contact has been observed in other animals too but intimate kissing involving full tongue contact and saliva exchange appears unique to humans, the paper said.
The act of kissing is seen as an adaptive courtship behavior and is common in almost all, it said.
A human body can host more than 100-trillion microroganisms. Research has shown there is 10 times as much bacteria living in an average adult than there are human cells.
The controlled study suggests the role played by shared lifestyle, dietary and personal care habits have an influence on the microbiota in a person’s mouth.