Investigation of the fixative effect of a solution consisting of honey, ethyl alcohol and citric acid for histochemical staining

Many scientific researches have been carried out to discover an alternative chemical to formaldehyde, which has been found to have harmful effects on the environment, human and animal health. The aim of this study was to investigate whether solutions of varying ratios of honey, ethyl alcohol and citric acid can be an effective alternative fixative for histochemical staining, which is frequently used in histological research. In the study, solutions of honey, ethyl alcohol and citric acid in different ratios were used as experimental groups and formol and Bouin solutions were used as control groups. Tissues were obtained from the brain, tongue, parotid gland, liver, pancreas and kidneys of 10 Wistar Albino rats regardless of sex. The samples were fixed in the test and formol groups for 24, 48 and 72 hours. In Bouin solution, the fixation time was determined as 24 hours. For the evaluation of histological quality, hematoxylin-eosin, PAS (Periodic Acid Schiff) and Masson's Trichrome staining were performed on the sections taken from the tissues. The sections were evaluated under a light microscope and photographs were taken with a digital camera integrated into the microscope. The scores obtained in the study were statistically analyzed. In conclusion, our study showed that a solution consisting of honey, ethanol and citric acid can be an alternative to commonly used fixatives. Especially if the solution containing 40% honey is standardized, it is thought to be one step ahead in this direction.