Author(s)

Cecilia Smith-Togobo¹, Adam Abdul Fatau¹, Magalys Cuba Lopez², Felix Kpor¹, David Larbi Simpong³, George Osei Yiadom¹, Emmanuel Akomanin Asiamah¹

¹Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
²Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
³Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

Stains are applied to impart contrast to the tissue and identify particular features of interest. However, the use of synthetic dyes as staining reagents has been associated with significant human health challenges and pollution of the ecosystem. These developments have necessitated a shift towards using natural dyes that are eco-friendlier and readily available. We investigated the staining reaction patterns of teak tree leaves (Tectona grandis) dye extracts and explored their suitability as a cytoplasmic stain in micromorphological assessments. Dye extracts were prepared using acetone, methanol, and ethanol as solvents from air-dried (under shade) teak tree young leaves. The dye extracts were applied as a counterstain and evaluated against eosin in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) bovine tissue sections at varying concentrations and different staining times. Teak tree leaves (Tectona grandis) dye extracts produced relatively varying staining intensities of reddish-brown cytoplasmic coloration when used on bovine tissue at different concentrations and staining times comparable to eosin and with blue-purple hematoxylin nuclear stain. The present study showed that Tectona grandis leaf dye extracts provide an excellent cytoplasmic staining pattern and can be used as an alternative counterstain in routine H&E staining techniques.

Histology, Cytoplasm, Plant Extract, Tectona grandis Leaves, Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Tissues, Natural Dye, Staining, Cytoplasmic Stain, Animal Tissues, Staining Reaction

Smith-Togobo, C. , Fatau, A. , Lopez, M. , Kpor, F. , Simpong, D. , Yiadom, G. and Asiamah, E. (2023) Tectona grandis (Teak Tree) Young Leaf Extract as a Histological Stain. Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering, 16, 17-41. doi: 10.4236/jbise.2023.162002.