BACHELOR IN SCIENCE OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

CENTRAL LUZON DOCTORS' HOSPITAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

S.Y. 2018 – 2019

Basella rubra (Alugbati) as an

Organic Peripheral Blood Stain

BY:

Kathrina Marie S. Celestino

SUBMITTED TO:

MRS. LEONORA B. QUIAOIT, MPA

RESEARCH PROFESOR
 CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

A. INTRODUCTION

Over the years, researches have been engaged in order to improve and find alternatives to certain

processes. This processes when applied to health science may be beneficial for the proper diagnosis and course of

treatment to be given to patients and therefore may help save precious lives. As the world constantly change and

new technologies are being discovered, synthetic materials are vogue and prevails over the use of the natural ones.

Most dyes uses synthetic substances from coal tar, which are highly toxic and may cause adverse effect to people's

health. Depending on the rarity, materials of natural source can be difficult to procure and hard to process, but the

quality it provides is promising. “Staining is the process of applying dyes on sections to see and study the physical

characteristics of cells. This is made possible because different cells display varying affinities for most dyes and

stains” (Gregorios & Cohen 2012). These dyes and stains can be of natural source or be synthetically produced for

the use in the clinical laboratory.

This study aims to produce an alternative specimen stain for haematologic blood stain. It also

conceptualize a natural a specimen stain from Basella rubra ( alugbati ) that is inexpensive and whose sources are

indigenous and abundant. This ovate or heart shaped leafy vegetable is commonly known as “Malabar spinach” in

English, and “Alugbati” in Tagalog (Siscar 2016) .

Alugbati is succulent plant and it is usually found in settled areas or in hedges throughout the

Philippines. Thus, it can also be found in some countries such as Africa,Malaysia and tropical Asia (Consumer and

Food Economics Research Division Agricultural Research Service 2011).

Instead of using chemicals for staining, the researcher will be using a natural staining agent such as

alugbati, since it shows staining property; it produce a red violet pigment, the researcher aims to produce a natural

haematologic stain that is cheap, easy to find and not harmful to humans and environment (Santoso, 2016).
 B. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study seeks to find the staining property of Basella rubra (alugabati) extracts specimen stain on

human blood. Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:

1. How many Basella rubra extract measure in mL is needed to produce a specimen stain?

2. How accurate is the staining property of Basella rubra for specimen stain?

3. To what extent is the expiration of the said product?

C. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The finding of this study aims to contribute to the following:

For students of Medical Technology, the study may provide broader knowledge to different dyes that can be

used as an effective alternative in making stains.

For the Department of Medical Technology, it may give a new way of staining procedure for blood

specimens.

For the economy, the study may aspire more economical way of making chemical stain by using common

and popular plant namely – Basella rubra (alugbati) instead of other dyes that uses synthetic chemical compounds.

Moreover, the researchers would like to make best use of our natural and own goods as a source of reliable and

lowcost end product that may give significant advantage not only for the Laboratory but also for the whole country.

D. SCOPES AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The researcher will only test the staining properties of Basella rubra extract s specimen stain on

Human Blood not on chemicals. The blood that the researcher will be using is from a voluntary patient. This study

focuses only on the efficacy of Basella rubra as an organic peripheral blood stain.

In this study, researcher will conduct some tests to see if Basella rubra can be used as specimen

stain for blood and how effective it will be.

 E. DEFINITION OF TERMS

Basella rubra is vining type of plant that thrives in hot temperatures, valued for the brilliant fuchsia-purplish colour

of its leaf stems and veins as well as its mild flavour.

Blood stain or dye is used to clearly identify and see the morphology of a specimen.

Coal tar is a thick black liquid produced by the destructive distillation of bituminous coal. The major chemicals in

coal tar creosote, coal tar, and coal tar pitch that can cause harmful health effects are polycyclic aromatic

hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenol, and cresols.

Synthetic chemical compounds - copies of natural chemicals. These are substance or compound formed under

human control by any chemical reaction.

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the procedures and methods that will be used. It includes the research design, research locale,

research subject, and the instruments that will be used to collect data.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The study is used as an experimental design to determine the effectiveness of Malabar spinach “Alugbati’

(Basella rubra) as an organic peripheral blood stain. Malabar spinach “Alugbati” (Basella rubra) seed extract will be

used as an experimental variable to compare the effectiveness as haematological stain.

RESEARCH LOCALE

The researcher will be conducting the study at the Medical Technology Department Laboratory of Central

Luzon Doctors’ Hospital – Educational Institution in Romulo Highway, San Pablo, Tarlac City.

In this study the researchers will be using Malabar spinach “Alugbati” (Basella rubra) seed extract as an alternative

stain for peripheral blood smear. Malabar spinach “Alugbati” (Basella rubra) is bought from the nearest market in

Tarlac City. This subject will prove that Basella rubra has the capability to stain peripheral blood smears.

RESEARCH SUBJECT

The researcher will use the seed of Basella rubra to determine its effectiveness as an organic peripheral

blood stain. The samples including blood from researcher’s volunteers will be taken to determine the effectiveness

of Basella rubra as an organic peripheral blood stain,

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS

Instrument Use
Malabar spinach “Alugbati” (Basella rubra) seed extract Collection
Cheese Cloth A type of cloth that will be used for the first
 filtration, then to the second and third
filtration; the researchers will be using filter
paper to filter the pure extract of Alugbati .
Blood Collection
K2EDTA A type of evacuated tube used that has
Dipotassium Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
– an anticoagulant of choice for
haematological testing because it allows the
best preservation of cellular components and
morphology of blood cells according to the
ICSH or the International Council for
Standardization in Haematology. It will be
important for this study to determine the
morphology of different blood cells.
Sterile Syringe A medical syringe which consists of a needle
attached to a hollow cylinder that is filled
with a sliding plunger designed for
venipuncture used to obtain blood.
Cotton Used to stop or prevent bleeding from minor
punctures such as injection or venipuncture.
70% Isopropyl Alcohol Inhibits bacterial growth and is often used as
a topical skin disinfectant
Micropore Tape Comfortable and highly breathable
hypoallergenic paper tape that is used to
secure dressings and devices to skin after
venipuncture.
Tourniquet A device used to locate and define the
peripheral blood veins, used to control venous
and arterial circulation to an extremity for a
period of time.
Pencil Used to label the glass slides, vacuum tubes,
and other materials used.
Filtering Procedure
Beaker A cylindrical glassware used to measure and
contain the Malabar spinach “Alugbati”
(Basella rubra) seed extract.
Erlenmeyer Flask Conical in shape with a cylindrical neck and a
wide flat base glassware that has similar
function as the beaker, used to measure and
contain the Malabar spinach “Alugbati”
(Basella rubra) seed extract.
Filter Paper A type of paper that is used to filter the
residue of Malabar spinach “Alugbati”
(Basella rubra) to obtain its pure extract.
Funnel Used to transfer liquid into the container in a
precise manner.
pH meter Used for measuring the acid and alkaline level
of the Malabar spinach “Alugbati” (Basella
rubra).
Peripheral Blood Smear Preparation
Glass Slides Used to view the prepared peripheral blood
smear on the microscope.
Serologic pipette A nearly ubiquitous laboratory instrument
used for transferring milliliter volume of
liquids (has graduations along its sides for
measuring amount of liquid being aspirated or
dispense).
Pipettol This laboratory instrument is used to aspirate
the amount of solvent that will be needed for
this study.
Staining Rack/Tray Used to hold the slide during staining process.
Methanol A type of fixative that is used to fix the
prepared peripheral blood smears.
Methylene Blue A type of reagent that is used to stain
peripheral blood smear, a basic dye that stains
the acidic parts of cells.
Eosin is often used as a counterstain to
haematoxylin; eosin shows cytoplasm stained
pink-orange and nuclei stained darkly, either
blue or purple. It is an acidic dye that stains
the basic part of the cells. It is used as the
control for this study.
0.9% NaOH Used to wash off the excess reagent on the
prepared peripheral blood smear. It is also
used for last step in preparing peripheral
blood smear.