Figure 6

Toxicity of lime juice following repeat topical application onto a reconstructed cervicovaginal epithelium. Reconstructed cervicovaginal epithelial tissues (MatTek Corporation) were repeatedly exposed to LiJ (diluted using normal saline) for 30 minutes. Exposure occurred either: (A) once daily for 5 days; or (B) 5 times in one day (30 minute exposure, wash, culture for 1 hour then repeat exposure). After the final exposure, juice was removed by washing and epithelial viability assessed by the method of MTT dye reduction. Data shown are expressed as percentage viability (when compared to an untreated control) andrepresent the mean ± SEM of n = 2 independent experiments where each condition was tested in triplicate, except for 25% LiJ exposed repeatedly in one day which was only tested in one experiment. Statistical analysis was performed (ANOVA with Bonferroni post tests) to compare LiJ treated wells and an untreated control, and statistically significant changes are marked with ** (p < 0.01); or *** (p < 0.001). ND: not determined (due to only one dataset).