https://scialert.net Asian Journal of Applied Sciences en-us Science Alert Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:11:57 +0200 Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:14:14 +0200 RssPublisher 0.2.0 beta https://scialert.net/images/logo.gif https://scialert.net 41 233 Asian Journal of Applied Sciences Application of Crude Extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa as Stain for Bacterial Cells Background and Objective: Traditional synthetic bacterial strains are expensive, toxic and degrade the environment. Towards finding alternative substitutes, a study to investigate extracts from a common food and medicinal plant, Hibiscus sabdariffa for staining of bacterial cells was undertaken. The study evaluated the ability of the plant extracts to adequately stain bacterial cells and replace and/or complement and reduce the use of the costly, largely toxic, environmentally harmful synthetic dyes and stains. Materials and Methods: Aqueous, methanol and ethanol of H. sabdariffa were carried out and the physical and chemical properties were determined. The extracts were tested on four bacterial species: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus spp. and Bacillus cereus. The stained cells were evaluated for clarity, definition and contrast. Results: Extracts of H. sabdariffa were acidic with an average pH of between 3.06 and 4.08 and were net negatively charged. It was observed that aqueous extracts of the plant stained better than the alcohol extracts. While the bacterial cells did not readily take up the plant stain by direct staining technique, negatively staining them gave sufficient contrast and clearly showed their morphologies. Conclusion: With further refinement, the pigments extracted from H. sabdariffa, could serve as low-budget stain alternatives that could be used to demonstrate bacterial shapes and morphologies, an especially useful in resource poor environments.]]> https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=ajaps.2024.1.6 10 June, 2026