Alugbati (Basella Rubra) Fruit Extract : A Possible Alternative to Hematoxylin for Cytologic Smears / Patricia C. Zapiter ; Robelyn H. San Miguel ; Floramel Joy D. Quiambao ; Keith Terry L. Oblepias ; Jhoanna Michelle B. Santos ; Hannah Mae M. Endaya ; Zandra P. Delfino ; Glenn Mark G. Fetalver ; Charles Edcel C. Pangan and Jenezelle V. Cayos.

Includes appendices and bibliographical references.

Abstract: Producing a stain capable of becoming an alternative to the most widely used nuclear stain, the hematoxylin stain, which is cost-effective, safe, and readily available in the Philippines which will have a great impact in the medical field. Thirty (30) buccal smears were collected from ten (10) random students of FEU-NRMF, three (3) smears per students. The staining procedure adopted in this study was the Papanicolau's staining procedure being utilized at FEU-NRMF laboratory but, the staining was done at Histosolutions, Inc. We used the Kruskall-Wallis H test and Tukey's test, the results show that there is enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis which states that the distribution of nuclear staining is the same across the three treatments. This lead to the conclusion of this study that Basella rubra fruits extract is not capable of becoming an alternative to hematoxylin for cytologic smears. Hence, this research recommends to: (1) use a more efficient way of extracting pure anthocyanin in the fruits, (2) keep the stain in suitable environment to lessen the possibility of degradation, and (3) find other fruits or plant containing anthocyanin which are also abundant in the counrty.

Thesis - School of Medical Technology