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| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 1980 | Volume
: 28
| Issue : 4 | Page : 211-214 |
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Preservation of cornea in honey
Madan Mohan, SK Verma, G Mukherjee
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India
Correspondence Address:
Madan Mohan
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110 029
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
PMID: 7026436 
How to cite this article:
Mohan M, Verma S K, Mukherjee G. Preservation of cornea in honey. Indian J Ophthalmol 1980;28:211-4 |
Filatov[1] established the use of cadaver corneas as donor material. Maggitot[2] demonstrated that cornea can be preserved in haemolysed blood and stored. Since then various fluid medium have been experimented and are in trial in the field of corneal preservation. Preservative and hygroscopic property of honey is known in Ayurvedic Medicine. An attempt has been made in this study to use honey as a preservative media for corneal storage.
| Materials and methods | |  |
Dogs, weighing 8-12 kg, were used. Their eyes were enucleated after instant death following intracardiac injection of Nembutal sodium 30 mg/kg body weight. The eyes were preserved within 2 hours of enucleation for further study. Slit lamp examination and pachometry was done before preservation. Eyeballs and cornea-seleral discs were kept in varying strengths of honey (10% to 100%) in saline with and without I % citric acid. Based on the findings of pilot study, two concentrations of honey were chosen for detailed study on the corneo-scleral discs. Cornea with 4mm. scleral rim was removed and kept in 20 ml sterile media bottle with endothelial side up. Sterile Honey (Agmark grade `A' No. H 202473) was used in two concentrations i.e. 90% honey in normal saline and 75% honey with 1 % citric acid in normal saline. Corneas were preserved for 1 week, and 4 weeks at 4°C. In each group 16 corneas were preserved. 4 corneas from each group were removed at intervals as above and subjected to gross examination, biomicroscopy, pachometry, microscopic examination of flat mount preparation of endothelium[3] and trypan blue staining[4].
For comparison 4 corneas were also preserved in M.K. Media for I week and studied in the above manner.
| Observations | | |
Agmark grade `A' Honey No. H 202473 had following characteristics, colour medium dark brown, free from any objectionable flavour or aroma, specific gravity at 27°C 1.41; Sucrose °%o by weight 2.85,• Ash % by weight 0.31; Moisture % by weight 18.4%; total reducing sugar % wt. 70.7; Fructose Glucose ratio 1:71.
Observations on clarity of cornea, thickness of cornea, flat mount preparation of endothelial cell for count, under low and high power microscopic fields and staining of endothelial cells with trypan blue were recorded [Table - 1], [Figure - 1][Figure - 2][Figure - 3][Figure - 4]. Preparation of flat mount of endothelium from corneas preserved beyond 2 weeks were technically difficult and showed extensive damage to the endothelial cells.
| Discussion | | |
Various technique have been used to preserve corneas which ranges from preservation of nonviable cornea preserved by dehydration, lyophilisation or desiccation to a viable cornea preservation in moist chamber, cryopreservation, M.K. Media and by organ culture techniques.
Honey has been known to Indian Ayurvedic sciences and in use for various general and ocular diseases. It's preservative, hygroscopic and bacteriostatic values are well known. It is rich in metabolizable glucose. Because of these characteristics preservation of cornea was tried in honey. The results were evaluated and compared with corneas preserved in M.K. Media. The results of preservation of cornea in 90% honey and 75% with 1% citric acid were comparable except that sedimentation appeared in the former concentration. The clarity and thickness of cornea are maintained to near normal in 75% honey with 1% citric acid all through the experimental period. The nonviable endothelial cell count after Trypan blue staining gradually increased from 5% in the normal to 25% at the end of 1st week. These results are comparable to corneas preserved in M. K. Media. These findings are in conformity with Horn et[5] who reported that following preservation of cornea in M.K. Media for 1 week, 20% or more endothelial cells take up Trypan blue staining. Other authors[6],[7],[8] have reported similar findings using M.K. Media.
These workers[5],[6],[7],[8],[9] have performed penetrating both experimental and clinical keratoplasty. They concluded that cornea having upto 25% nonviable cells demonstrable by Trypan blue staining, were successful. Based on these observations it can be concluded that 75% honey with 1% citric acid preparation can be useful for corneal preservation.
| Summary | | |
Dog Cornea with 4 mm scleral rim was preserved in 90% and 75% honey with 1% citric acid for periods upto 4 weeks. Comparative evaluation of results showed 75% honey with 1 % citric acid is a suitable media for corneal preservation and results are comparable to storage of cornea in M.K. Media upto I week.
| References | | |
| 1. | Filatov V.P- 1937 Lancet. 1:1395.  |
| 2. | Maggitot, 1911, Ann. Occulist Paris 146:1. |
| 3. | Smolin. G., 1968, Amer. J. Ophthalmol. 65: 232. |
| 4. | Stocker F.W., King E.H., Lacas, D.O. and Georgiade, N 1971, A.M.A Arch. Ophthalmol. 84:2. |
| 5. | Horn, D.L.V., Schultz, R.O. and De Brun J. 1975, Amer J. Ophthalmol 80:642. |
| 6. | Mc-Caurey, B.E. and Kaufman, H.E., 1974, Invest, Ophthalmol. 13:165. |
| 7. | Horn D.L.V. and Schultz R.O., 1977, Survey Ophthalmol. 21:301. |
| 8. | Bigar F; Mc-Caurey, B.E, and Kaufman, H.E., , 1975, Exp. Eye Res. 20:219. |
| 9. | Meyer R.F., Mc-Caurey, B.E, Valeti, J. and Kaufman, ELF„ 1976, Invest. Ophthalmol. 15:260. |
[Figure - 1], [Figure - 2], [Figure - 3], [Figure - 4]
[Table - 1]
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