Morphological Changes of the Lacrimal Gland and Corneal Epithelium after Melatonin Administration in White Mice

Study of the effects of melatonin on the lacrimal gland and corneal epithelium. In this study 20 white mice with the age of 11 months and weight of 20-23 g were divided equally in to the control and the experimental groups at random. The experimental group were daily injected intraperitoneally 10 mg/kg of melatonin dissolved inphysiological serum for two weeks. The mice of control group were received only physiological serum. After the end of the injection period, the mice were killed with ether and their lacrimalglands and eyes were removed and processed using light microscope. Morphometric analysis was carried out to find the thickness of corneal epithelium, then, the data was evaluated with SPSS soft ware and T Test. The thickness of corneal epithelium in experimental group compared to control group was increased significantly (P<0.001) and different sizes of inclusions were observed in the lumen of acini. Melatonin has different effects on the lacrimal gland and corneal epithelium.