EVALUATION OF THE STAINING POTENTIAL OF AQUEOUS AND ETHANOLIC LEAF EXTRACT OF Celosia argentea ON SOME TISSUES OF WISTAR RAT

Abstract

Histological diagnosis relies heavily on synthetic dyes like Eosin, which are often expensive, hazardous to health, and environmentally non-degradable. Consequently, there is a growing scientific interest in exploring eco-friendly, plant-based alternatives for routine tissue staining. Celosia argentea, a widely available tropical plant rich in bioactive pigments, presents a potential natural substitute for these conventional cytoplasmic counterstains. The aim of this study was to evaluate the staining potential of aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of Celosia argentea as a cytoplasmic counterstain on the liver, kidney, and colon tissues of Wistar rat. Fresh leaves were dried, pulverized, and extracted via maceration using distilled water and 95% ethanol, and following the calculation of extraction yields, the extracts were subjected to phytochemical screening and used to stain Haematoxylin-treated tissue sections at varying concentrations (1% and 2%) and durations (5 and 10 minutes) to assess cytoplasmic contrast against standard controls. The results demonstrated that while the aqueous extract (dried texture, 21% yield) and ethanolic extract (gummy texture, 9.7% yield) both confirmed the presence of carbohydrates, proteins, alkaloids, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, saponins, phenols, steroids, and tannins, the 2% aqueous extract applied for 10 minutes produced the optimal reaction effectively staining the cytoplasm, whereas the ethanolic extract exhibited poor penetration and lower concentrations yielded undefined structural details. In conclusion, the aqueous leaf extract of Celosia argentea serves as a viable, non-toxic, and cost-effective substitute for Eosin in routine histology when parameters are optimized.