Ophthalmic solutions containing arabinogalactans with a protective activity on the corneal epithelium, particularly suitable for use as artificial tears stimulating the recovery of corneal lesions and also particularly useful for contact lens users, containing from 1% to 10% by weight of arabinogalactan in an aqueous solution and possible other excipients, among which tonicity-adjusting agents, pH correctors, buffers and preservatives, except for benzalkonium chloride.The compositions according to the invention have a virtually negligible viscosity, but are sufficiently mucoadhesive to assure a considerable permanence time in the area of application. Besides being well-tolerated, the aforesaid compositions have considerable re-epithelization capacity.