Potential of Hibiscus sabdariffa Extracts as Alternative to Hematoxylin and Eosin in Histological Staining

Hibiscus sabdariffa, a plant grown in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa. It contains natural pigments that may work as an alternative to synthetic dyes that are expensive and harmful to the environment. The goal of this study was to assess how well aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Hibiscus sabdariffa can stain normal and abnormal tissue compared to H&E in terms of stain quality, clarity, and contrast. Dried Hibiscus sabdariffa leaves were used to prepare both aqueous and ethanolic extracts. The extracts were applied to tissue samples, and the results were compared to the traditional (H&E) method. Tissue staining was evaluated for clarity, intensity, contrast in a scale of 1-10. A team of five pathologist reviewed the samples and scored them based on these qualities. The comparison of normal and abnormal tissue staining with aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Hibiscus sabdariffa revealed that aqueous extract generally provided superior results in terms of better nuclei staining quality, nucleus clarity, contrast, clarity of cellular details, and background staining (P < 0.05). Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Hibiscus sabdariffa can serve as effective alternatives to the traditional Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining method for tissue morphology.