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Castor oil exerts cytotoxic effects on conjunctival cells

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  • Castor oil exerts cytotoxic effects on conjunctival cells

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...ubmed_RVDocSum
    Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 2007 Nov;48(11):5000-6.
    Benefits and Side Effects of Different Vegetable Oil Vectors on Apoptosis, Oxidative Stress, and P2X7 Cell Death Receptor Activation.
    Said T, Dutot M, Christon R, Beaudeux JL, Martin C, Warnet JM, Rat P.

    Laboratoire de Toxicologie and.

    PURPOSE: Ocular side effects in patients using eye drops may be due to intolerance to the vector used in eye drops. Castor oil is the commonly used lipophilic vector but has been shown to be cytotoxic. Effects on cells of four oils (olive, camelina, Aleurites moluccana, maize) were compared with those of castor oil in human conjunctival cells. METHODS: Human conjunctival cells were incubated with the oils for 15 minutes. After a 24-hour recovery period, cells were tested for viability, proliferation, apoptosis (P2X7 cell death receptor and caspase 3 activation), intracellular redox potential, and reactive oxygen species production. Fatty acid incorporation in cell membranes was also analyzed. In vivo ocular irritation was assessed using the Draize test. RESULTS: Compared to the four other oils, castor oil was shown to induce significant necrosis and P2X7 cell death receptor and caspase 3 activation and to enhance intracellular reactive oxygen species production. Aleurites moluccana and camelina oils were not cytotoxic and increased cell membrane omega-3 fatty acid content. None of the five tested oils showed any in vivo ocular irritation. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated that castor oil exerts cytotoxic effects on conjunctival cells. This cytotoxicity could explain the side effects observed in some patients using eye drops containing castor oil as a vehicle. The lack of cytotoxic effects observed with the four other oils, Aleurites, camelina, maize, and olive, suggest that they could be chosen to replace castor oil in ophthalmic formulations.

    PMID: 17962450 [PubMed - in process]

    [Note from Scout: Castor Oil is the vehicle used in Restasis]

  • #2
    um... how bad are cytotoxic effects?

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    • #3
      Good find Scout - true to your name !
      That's the Proff in Paris is'nt it ?
      I wonder if he uses a non - caster oil base for his patients for cyclosporin ?
      I decided against restasis at the moment ' cos i cant tolerate Endura drops at all and came to the conclusion it must be the caster oil component .Mind i cant tolerate a lot of things in my eyes - like lacrilube and any kind of preserved drops ,so there is probably an allergy issue - still the intolerances i have may well protect me against damage to the eyes i suppose
      It REALLY annoys me mind that there are absolutely no unpreserved allergy drops on the market - It just does'nt make sense !!!(Sorry - thats another subject)

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      • #4
        Originally posted by gettin better View Post
        um... how bad are cytotoxic effects?
        the cytotoxic effects are said to be necrosis - i.e. DEATH of the cells. If you lose conjunctival cells, it's that much more difficult for your ocular surface to maintain it's correct moisture levels, even if (unlikely, though) your tear glands are producing enough.

        Also, it is not water soluble and can cause blockage of the pores of the
        ocular surface.

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