title: Preliminary study of coconut water for graft tissues preservation in transplantation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to verify the effectiveness of coconut water in preserving tissues for transplant.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty male Wistar rats were randomly distributed in five groups, according to the following preservation solutions for tissue grafts: Group 1: Lactated Ringer; Group 2: Belzer solution; Group 3: mature coconut water; Group 4: green coconut water; Group 5: modified coconut water. In Group 5, the green coconut water has been modified like the Belzer solution. From each animal we harvested the spleen, ovaries and skin of the back segment. These tissues were preserved for six hours in one of the solutions. Then, the grafts were reimplanted. The recovery of the function of the implanted tissues was assessed 90 days after surgery, by splenic scintigraphy and blood exam. The implanted tissues were collected for histopathological examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serum levels did not differ among groups, except for the animals in Group 5, which showed higher levels of IgG than Group 1, and differences in relation to FSH between groups 1 and 2 (p <0.001), 4 and 2 (p = 0.03) and 5 and 2 (p = 0.01). The splenic scintigraphy was not different between groups. The ovarian tissue was better preserved in mature coconut water (p <0.007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the coconut water-based solutions preserves spleen, ovary, and rat skin for six hours, maintaining their normal function.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jorge Miguel Schettino
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: César
authors.affiliation: Department Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, UFMG, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petroianu
authors.affiliation: Department of Complementary Assessment, Faculty of Medicine, UFMG, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leonardo de Souza
authors.initials: Lde S
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, UFMG, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Valbert Nascimento
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Department of Complementary Assessment, Faculty of Medicine, UFMG, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciene das Graças
authors.initials: Ld
authors.lastname: Mota
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, UFMG, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alfredo José Afonso
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, UFMG, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cristina Duarte Vianna
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, UFMG, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Amanda Lima
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003059:Cocos; D008297:Male; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions