A comparative study of efficacy of coconut oil, lemon water and dishwashing liquid as surrogates to xylene

Histopathology is the field of science that helps in analyzing the architectural pattern of cells under the microscope. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections are used for routine histopathological examination. Xylene being a biohazardous hydrocarbon is used in many steps of tissue processing and laboratory personnel are exposed to this toxic substance. Maximum exposure to xylene occurs in the step of deparaffinization, for which alternate safer methods should be introduced. This study compares the efficacy of natural products like coconut oil, lemon water, less chemical substance like dish wash liquid with xylene as deparaffinizing agent. 50 paraffin embedded sections were used in each of the groups using xylene, coconut oil, diluted lemon water and dish wash liquid as deparaffinizing agents. 80% of slides using dishwashing liquid, 64% using lemon water and 42% of slides using coconut oil showed excellent cellular features. 96% of slides using xylene showed good quality staining, 54% of slides using dishwashing liquid and 40% slides using lemon water showed good quality staining. Only 4% of slides prepared using coconut oil showed good quality staining. Dishwashing liquid is the best surrogate and among the natural products, diluted lime water yields a better result and coconut oil, the least productive as deparaffinizing agent in this study.