Methods of Staining Plant Tissues for Differentiating the Natural Plant Oils from Petroleum Spray Oils

Petroleum, spray oils in sections of plant tissue have been distinguished from the plant oils by staining the fresh sections in the following dye solution: To a saturated aqueous solution of Nile blue sulfate, 0.5% sulfuric acid is added and the mixture is boiled under a reflux condenser for 4 or 5 hours. It should be as nearly alkaline as possible without a change of color. A solution of 50% alcohol and 50% acetone is then saturated with oil red O. One part of the Nile blue sulfate solution is then added to two parts of the oil red O solution. Allow to settle over night and filter. Stain several hours. Rinse in water and mount in glycerin jelly. A short discussion of the merits of this method and the differentiation of the spray oils by means of indophenol blue are also given.