EKSTRAK BUAH NAGA MERAH (Hylocereus polyrhizus) SEBAGAI PENGGANTI EOSIN PADA PERWARNAAN SEDIAAN SITOLOGI EPITEL MUKOSA MULUT

Objective: This study aims to determine the effectiveness of red dragon fruit extract as a substitute for eosin in cytological staining of oral mucosal epithelium with variations in extract concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 20%. Method: This study used an experimental method with cytological staining of oral mucosal epithelium using red dragon fruit extract at concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 20%, as well as a control using standard eosin. Staining was carried out using the maceration method with 96% ethanol, followed by qualitative evaluation of the staining results based on color intensity and contrast. Results: The results of staining with red dragon fruit extract showed that the 5% concentration gave poor results, the 10% concentration showed varying results, while the 20% concentration gave good staining results with color intensity and contrast that were almost equivalent to standard eosin.