Wintergreen oil: a novel method in Wheatley's trichrome staining technique
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026

Histochemical Staining of Arabidopsis thaliana Secondary Cell Wall Elements
Published on: May 13, 2014
Fatmah Md Salleh1, Tengku Shahrul Anuar, Azlin Mohd Yasin
1Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Abstract:
Permanent staining of faecal smears by Wheatley's trichrome technique has been used by many scientists for the detection of parasites in the past and it was found to be highly sensitive. This study was conducted to evaluate the use of Wintergreen oil in comparison with xylene in Wheatley's trichrome staining technique, as the reference technique. In a blind comparison study, 500 collected faecal samples from aboriginal communities were examined. Wintergreen oil was found to be more superior than xylene as a clearing agent in the Wheatley's trichrome staining of polyvinyl alcohol-fixed faecal smears for the identification of intestinal protozoa. Elimination of toxic, carcinogenic, and fire hazards makes Wintergreen oil the preferred choice in routine parasitology examinations.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Differential Staining Technique
Special Staining Techniques
Simple Staining Technique
Fixation and Sectioning
The simplest type of preparation is the wet mount, in which the specimen is placed in a drop of liquid on the slide. A liquid specimen can be directly deposited on the slide using a dropper. Solid specimens, such as skin scraping, can be placed on the slide before adding a drop of liquid to prepare the wet mount. Sometimes the liquid is simply water, but stains are often added...

