This will throw a monkey wrench in the nitrate controversy...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3421160/
I knew we had nitrites in our saliva, but not nitrates.
In humans and other mammals, about one-quarter of all circulating inorganic nitrate (NO3−), derived from diet or oxidation of endogenous nitric oxide (NO), is actively taken up by the salivary glands and excreted in saliva (1, 2). As a result, salivary nitrate levels are 10–20 times higher than those levels found in plasma (3).
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3421160/
I knew we had nitrites in our saliva, but not nitrates.