Staining of intestinal protozoa with heidenhain's iron Hematoxylin

• Main Author: Claudio Santos Ferreira
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2003
• Subjects: Iron hematoxylin staining; Intestinal protozoa; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/68bc20a60f5e4a4ab08dfa4287ce8115

Due to its unique properties, iron hematoxylin has been traditionally recommended for staining intestinal protozoa. This process can be simplified by reducing the number of steps and periods of permanence of the slides in some of the liquids used, without detriment to the quality of the results. Thus iron hematoxylin becomes adequate for routine use. Hematoxylin is a natural dye extracted from Haematoxylon campechianum, of the family Leguminosae. It must first be 'ripened', i.e. oxidized to hematein, which reacts with ferric ammonium sulphate to produce the ferric lake (iron hematoxylin), a basic dye. Iron hematoxylin most frequently stains regressively, i.e. the slides are first overstained and then differentiated.