Is saliva(spit) a living thing?

Can spit reproduce?

Saliva, also known as spit, is not considered a living thing. It is a biological fluid that is produced by the salivary glands in our mouths. Saliva is mainly composed of water, electrolytes, mucus, enzymes, and antimicrobial compounds. While saliva contains living cells, such as white blood cells to help fight infections, these cells are not considered to be part of the saliva itself. Saliva primarily serves important functions in the digestive system, such as lubricating food for easier swallowing and initiating the breakdown of carbohydrates with enzymes.

To determine if something is a living thing or not, we can use certain characteristics of life. Living things typically exhibit properties such as cellular organization, growth, reproduction, response to stimuli, homeostasis, and metabolism. Saliva does not display all these characteristics, which is why it is not considered a living thing.