To evaluate the efficacy of topical Aloe Vera gel-derived eye drops on the healing of alkaline-burned corneas in rabbits.

Thirty alkaline burned corneas from 30 New Zealand albino rabbits were categorized into three groups: Aloe Vera (AV) treatment that received Aloe Vera gel-derived eye drops every 6h daily, medical therapy (MT), and controls. Clinical examinations together with digital photography of the corneas were performed on days 0, 1, 2, 4 and 7. The area of the corneal epithelial defect (CED) was measured using ImageJ software. After euthanizing the rabbits the affected corneas were evaluated for histopathologic examinations. Finally, the clinical and histopathologic results were compared between the groups.

None of the cases developed hypersensitivity reactions, limbal ischemia, Descemetocele, or corneal perforation during study. CED area was not significantly different between the groups on day 1; however, on days 2 and 7 it was significantly less in AV group than other groups (P = 0.004 and P = 0.043, respectively). On day 4, the CED area in AV was less than MT group (P = 0.049) but not significantly different from the controls. On histopathology, the keratocyte loss and endothelial cell loss were notably less in the AV than other groups (P < 0.001). Corneal neovascularization was observed more significantly in the AV group as compared with the controls (P = 0.024).

Short-term topical AV treatment is effective in healing alkaline-burned corneas and its therapeutic results are superior to those of MT.