What is the natural source of hematoxylin?

Hematoxylin is a natural product extracted from the heartwood of the logwood tree (Haematoxylum campechianum).

Where is hematoxylin made?

Hematoxylin is obtained from the logwood tree or Palo de Campeche (Haematoxylon campechianum) native to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and Central America.

How is hematoxylin obtained?

Extraction of haematoxylin from logwood on industrial scales has been accomplished by boiling the wood chips in the French process, or with steam and pressure, in the so-called American process. Once extracted, the dye can be sold as a liquid concentrate, or dried, and sold in a crystalline form.

What type of stain is hematoxylin?

Hematoxylin has a deep blue-purple color and stains nucleic acids by a complex, incompletely understood reaction. Eosin is pink and stains proteins nonspecifically. In a typical tissue, nuclei are stained blue, whereas the cytoplasm and extracellular matrix have varying degrees of pink staining.

What are types of hematoxylin?

Aluminum Hematoxylin Solutions

• Ehrlich’s Hematoxylin.
• Harris Hematoxylin.
• Cole’s Hematoxylin.
• Mayer’s Hematoxylin.
• Weigert’s Hematoxylin.
• Heidenhain’s Hematoxylin.
• Phosphotungstic Acid Hematoxylin (PTAH)

What is a hematoxylin stain?

Hematoxylin is a natural dye extract which is formed in the Logwood tree found in Mexico and Central America. To date there has been no other substance or source found to provide the quality and staining morphology better than hematoxylin. Hematoxylin in itself has little to no staining capacity.

What is hematoxylin nucleus?

The nucleus of a cell, which is the primary point of interest in pathology, has negatively charged molecules and will have a strong affinity for positively charged molecules in certain dyes. Hematoxylin is a natural dye extract which is formed in the Logwood tree found in Mexico and Central America.

What are the two types of hematoxylins?

Hematoxylin can be placed into two categories: Progressive and Regressive. Because the stronger hematoxylins have a tendency to overstain tissue, and the excess stain must be removed by differentiation, these hematoxylins require a ‘regressive’ method of staining.

Where is the haematoxylin extracted?

Historically the logwood was exported and the haematoxylin extracted in Europe, more recently extraction takes place closer to where the logwood is harvested.