Black mulberries (Morus nigra) as a natural dye for animal tissues staining

Abstract

Natural dyes produce an extraordinary diversity of rich and complex colours as well as unexpected results, making them exciting to use. Natural dyes have been used for staining wool, silk, carpet and cotton. Black mulberry (Morus nigra) has strong staining activity and a distinct flavor with juicy and acidic characteristics making them attractive for use in the processing industry in products such as fruit juice, ice cream, jelly, and jam. Aim of this study was to investigate a new staining method using black mulberry for whole mount and transverse sections staining of fasciola. Adult liver flukes (Fasciola sp.) were collected from the livers of naturally infected cows at slaughterhouse, washed with physiological saline solution. Some adult Fasciola were collected, immersed in 10% neutral buffered formalin for fixation, and embedded in paraffin for histological studies. The rest of whole mount of adult worms were collected, and then stained by the new method (dye extracted form beet root) and Carmine staining method for control. Sections, 7-10 micrometer from adult worms were collected, and then stained by the new method and hematoxyllin & eosin staining method for control. By using the dye extracted from beet root, zoologists and parasitologists can make identification and differentiation between different parasites. By using the dye extracted from black mulberry, zoologists and parasitologists can make identification and differentiation between different parasites. This dye method can be an alternative to cost and time consuming current chemical staining methods.

Review on Extraction and Application of Natural Dyes

“…In addition, it is also found that the pigments produced by bacteria, fungi, moulds, and other microorganisms can also be used as a source of natural dyes. This will diversify the sources and colours of natural dyes and application fields and greatly enrich the product range [76,77].…”

Indian dye yielding plants: Efforts and opportunities

“…It is mainly oriented to the needs of local importance. A large number of plant sources have been identified for the extraction of colour and their diversified use in textile dyeing, food colouration, cosmetics (Dweck, 2002), medicinal, histological staining (Tousson & Al‐Behbehani, 2011), and several other application disciplines (Shahid & Mohammad, 2013). Some valuable dye yielding plants and their uses have been given in Table 5.…”

Removal of Organic Dyes from Industrial Effluents: An Overview of Physical and Biotechnological Applications

“…Also, natural dyes are known for their use in dye-sensitized solar cells [33], histological staining [34], as a pH indicator [35] and for several other disciplines [36,37].…”