Background: In histopathology labs for Haematoxylin and Eosin staining, xylene is used as the deparaffinising agent. It is costly, hazardous and the working environment will be polluted and there is also the problem of proper disposal. So, it is very useful if we can use an eco-friendly and cheap substitute for xylene in deparaffinisation.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of xylene-free deparaffinised sections with the conventional H and E sections in producing adequate H and E staining with simplicity, cost-effectiveness and less turn-around time .

Materials and Method: The study was carried out in the Dept. of Pathology and Dept. of MLT in a tertiary level teaching centre in the government sector at Thiruvananthapuram.,for a period of 6 months . Forty paraffin blocks were selected. One section was stained with conventional H and E staining method and the other with xylene -free H and E staining method. Slides were scored for parameters; nuclear staining, cytoplasmic staining, uniformity, clarity and crispness.

Results & Conclusion: The xylene-free H and E staining procedure carried out using a simple diluted dish washing soap solution gave excellent positive results and is at par with the conventional H and E staining procedure. It produces a quality staining with sufficient clarity and a crisp nuclear and cytoplasmic staining. It also has added advantages of being nontoxic, economical, nonflammable, nonhazardous, no problem of disposal, reduces staining time and is easy to handle.

Keywords: H and E (Haematoxylin and Eosin ) staining, xylene.

1. Cook HC.Origins of tinctorial methods in histology.J Clin Pathol 1997;50:716-20 [PMC free article]
2. Falkeholm L, Grant CA, Magnusson A, Moller E. Xylene-Free Method for Histological preparation: A Multicentre Evaluation. Lab Invest 2001;81:1213-21
3. Buesa RJ, Peshkov MV. Histology without xylene. Ann DiagnPathol 2009; 13:246- 56.
4. Reena Kandyala, SumanthPhani C Ragha-vendra & Saraswathi T Rajasekharan : Xylene An overview of its health hazards and preventive measures; J Oral Maxillo-fac Pathol. 2010 Jan- Jun; 14 (1): 1-5.
5. Kandyala R, Raghavendra SP, Rajasekharan ST.Xylene:An overview of its health hazards and preventive measures .J Oral Maxillofac Pathol.2010;14:1-5
6. Madhuri R ankle, Priya S joshi; A study to evaluate the efficacy of xylene-free Haematoxylin and eosin staining procedure as compared to the conventional H and E staining : An experimental study.J  Oral Maxillofac Pathol.2011 May-Aug;15(2):161-167
7. PinkiPandey,Alok Dixit et al:A comparative study to evaluate liquid dish washing soapas an alternative to xylene and alcohol in deparaffinisation and hematoxylin and eosin staining. J Lab Physicians.2014 Jul-Dec;6(2):84-90.
8. RamuluS,KoneruA,RavikumarS.An excellent substitute for xylene and alcohol in Hematoxylin and Eosin staining procedure .J Orofac Sci.2012;4:37-42.
9. BuesaRJ,PeshkovMY.Complete elimination of xylene in practice of a histology laboratory.Arkh Patol.2011;73: 54-60.[PubMed]
10. BuesaR J. Mineraloil: The best xylene substitute for tissue processing yet? Histotechnol. 2000;23:143-9

Dr Ruby Elizabeth Elias

Assistant Professor, Dept.of Pathology, Government Medical College,Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala-695011

Phone no: 9447403857,0471-2551900, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.