The royal jelly had no effect on the leukemia cells, but it had dramatic effects on sarcoma cells. Royal jelly, however, has not lived up to expectations that it is an important anti-aging substance. But it is not without medical interest. Royal jelly consists of an emulsion of proteins, sugars, lipids and some other substances in a water base. Proteins make up about 13% of royal jelly. Most of the proteins comprise a family called major royal jelly proteins.
Cells were first discovered by Robert Hooke in 1663.
Merkel cell were first identified by German anatomist Friedrich Sigmund Merkel in 1875 who, by using an osmium fixation and a silver staining, described them in the epidermal basal layer as large cells paler than keratinocytes and in close contact with enlarged terminal branches of myelinated afferent nerve fibers.