Natural dyes versus lysochrome dyes in cheiloscopy: A comparative evaluation

Cheiloscopy is the study of lip prints. Lip prints are genotypically determined and are unique, and stable. At the site of crime, lip prints can be either visible or latent. To develop lip prints for study purpose various chemicals such as lysochrome dyes, fluorescent dyes, etc. are available which are very expensive. Vermilion (Sindoor used by married Indian women) and indigo dye (fabric whitener) are readily available, naturally derived, and cost-effective reagents available in India. OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of sudan black, vermilion, and indigo in developing visible and latent lip prints made on bone china cup, satin fabric, and cotton fabric. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Out of 45 Volunteers 15 lip prints were made on bone China cup 15 lip prints on Satin fabric and 15 on Cotton fabric. Sudan black, vermilion and indigo were applied on visible and latent lip prints and graded as good (+,+), fair (+), and poor (-) and statistically evaluated. RESULTS: The vermilion and indigo dye gives comparable results to that of sudan black for developing visible and latent lip prints.