Histochemical Investigation of the Mucosubstances in the Broiler Chicken Lachrymal Gland the First Nine Weeks after the Hatching

One hundred and eighty lachrymal glands obtained from 90 broiler chickens originating from a commercial stock, equal number from both genders at the age of 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49 and 56 days were investigated. After the narcosis, decapitation and glandular preparation, using paraffin and frozen sections an evaluation of the gland polysaccharides was carried out following the conventional method ─ PAS. The combined staining method of Mowry’s Alcian Blue followed by PAS was used to reveal the total acidic and neutral mucosubstances. Selective staining of acidic sulfated mucosubstances was done using Alcian Blue at pH 1.0. Acidic nonsulfated (sialylated) glycoconjugates were counted by the differentiation between total acidic and acidic sulfated mucosubstances. After PAS, cytochemical reactivity was detected for the first time only by the end of the first week (7 th day), and afterwards persisted in all age groups. The polysaccharides were a combination of glycogen, mucoproteins, glycoproteins and glycolipids. The combined histochemical methods determined the presence of moderately acidic nonsulfated glycosaminoglycans, and very weak reactivity for sulfated mucins in lachrymal gland’s tertiary tubules of 56-day-old broiler chicken. The analysis of the obtained data showed that the broiler’s lachrymal gland in the first nine weeks after hatching has a mucosubstance activity, whose expression and localization is age-dependent.