title: Wintergreen oil: a novel method in Wheatley's trichrome staining technique.
abstract: Permanent staining of faecal smears by Wheatley's trichrome technique has been used by many scientists for the detection of parasites in the past and it was found to be highly sensitive. This study was conducted to evaluate the use of Wintergreen oil in comparison with xylene in Wheatley's trichrome staining technique, as the reference technique. In a blind comparison study, 500 collected faecal samples from aboriginal communities were examined. Wintergreen oil was found to be more superior than xylene as a clearing agent in the Wheatley's trichrome staining of polyvinyl alcohol-fixed faecal smears for the identification of intestinal protozoa. Elimination of toxic, carcinogenic, and fire hazards makes Wintergreen oil the preferred choice in routine parasitology examinations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Fatmah Md
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Salleh
authors.forename: Tengku Shahrul
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Anuar
authors.forename: Azlin Mohd
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Yasin
authors.forename: Norhayati
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Moktar
mesh_terms: D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism*; D010274:Parasitology / Q000379:methods*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000378:metabolism*; D012459:Salicylates / Q000378:metabolism; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012459:Salicylates; C515973:wintergreen oil