Analysis of Fixative Properties of Three Eco-friendly Substances: A Comparison with Formalin.

Introduction: Ever since its initial use as tissue fixative in the 19th century, formalin has been the choice fixative in histopathology, providing efficient and economic tissue fixation. In recent years, there has been a search for suitable alternatives to this "golden fixative," following the reported harmful effects of formalin on humans. Honey has been quoted as having excellent fixative property, posing no hazard, being naturally occurring. Others like sugar and jaggery with composition similar to honey are also being explored of late, as substitutes to formalin. Aim: To analyze the fixative properties of honey, jaggery, and sugar and compare the same with that of formalin, to assess the best fixative among them to seek the possibility of an ecofriendly substitute for formalin in routine histopathology. Materials and methods: Bits of human gingival tissue were placed in four containers with 20% solutions of honey, jaggery, and sugar and 10% formalin. After 24hour fixation followed by conventional processing and staining, the sections were analyzed under light microscopy for details, such as cell outline, nuclear and cytoplasmic staining, and uniformity of staining. Each criterion was assessed by two independent observers on a scale from 0 to 3; 0 for poor and 3 for excellent. The results obtained were analyzed using Kruskal--Wallis analysis of variance test. Results and conclusion: Our study, aimed at assessing the fixation abilities of three ecofriendly substances, has yielded positive and promising results. The naturally occurring and highly economical substances like honey and jaggery were found to give better results than formalin, indicating a more prominent role for them in histopathology in the near future, thereby keeping alive the possibility of being used as substitutes to formalin in laboratories in the years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]