Green propolis with hyaluronic acid mitigates benzalkonium chloride-induced ocular surface injury in mice.

Authors

Iaciara Luana Xavier de Albernaz, Jhuan Luiz Silva, Thaylla Maria Ferreira, Gabriela Cunha Cândido, Fernanda Gosuen Gonçalves Dias, Francismar Barbosa de Oliveira, Carly Henrique Gambeta Borges, Sérgio Ricardo Ambrosio, Marcela Aldrovani Rodrigues

Published in

Natural product research. Pages 1-10. Sep 06, 2026. Epub Sep 06, 2026.

Abstract

Brazilian green propolis (GP) has antioxidant/anti-inflammatory activity and may protect the ocular surface from preservative toxicity. We tested a hyaluronic acid (HA)-based GP formulation in an acute benzalkonium chloride (BAK)-induced ocular surface injury model with dry eye disease (DED)-like features in BALB/c mice. Animals (n = 8/group; one eye treated) received 0.5% BAK (5 µL, 4×/day) for 5 days alone or concomitantly with 0.4% HA, HA + GP (0.5%), or HA + taurine (Tau; 0.5%). Tear production (Schirmer I; baseline, days 1, 3, 5) decreased in the BAK group by day 5 (p < 0.05 vs. baseline) but remained stable with HA + GP and HA + Tau. Corneal sensitivity was unchanged. HA + GP reduced clinical irritation/inflammation, preserved eyelid aperture, and maintained corneal smoothness. Corneal histology showed BAK-induced epithelial detachment and increased caspase-3 immunoreactivity, both similarly reduced by HA + GP and HA + Tau. Overall, HA + GP matched the HA + Tau benchmark and improved comfort-related measures.

PMID:
42702003
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.