Hi,
    That's fascinating I cook with saffron a lot. What does the saffron
stain (cytoplasm, collagen, muscle everything?) I know it does a number on
fingers and any clothes you happen to spill it on. Also the stuff is REALLY
expensive ... spilling is liable to get one filleted in a kitchen.
    It is also great on rice and since our IHC lab uses a steamer for
antigen retrieval who needs to go home to eat? HAHA (of course I wouldn't
eat or cook in a lab ... honest!)
Amos

----- Original Message -----
From: "Hermina Borgerink" 
To: "J. A. Kiernan" 
Cc: "Bernard Ian R SSgt 59 CRES/MSROP" ;
"Histonet (E-mail)" 
Sent: Friday, May 24, 2002 9:06 AM
Subject: Re: Does anyone know once again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


> I used Saffran du Gatinais in the HPS (Hematoxylin-Phloxine-Saffron)
stain, which
> was then my routine stain (as the H&E is today) some 35 years ago.  It is
a
> lovely trichrome stain and relatively easy to do do.  Anyway, here is my
recipe
> to make up Saffran du Gatinais:
>
> Two or three pinches of dried Spanish saffron
> 1000 ml of absolute alcohol
>
> Add the saffron to 500 ml of absolute alcohol and let ripen in a 60 degree
> Celsius oven for 48 hours.  Pour off the alcohol and store in a tightly
closed
> dark bottle.  Add the remaining 500 ml of alcohol to the saffron and let
ripen
> again for 48 hours in a 60 degree oven.  Add to the first batch obtained.
Store
> in a tightly closed dark bottle and keep away from moisture.
>
> This solution is hydrophobic so when using it in any stain, the slides
must be
> completely dehydrated in alcohol prior to immersion in this solution
(about 5 -
> 10 minutes).  They must also be differentiated in absolute alcohols before
> clearing through xylenes.
>
> Hermina
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "J. A. Kiernan" wrote:
>
> > Bernard Ian R SSgt 59 CRES/MSROP wrote:
> > >
> > > Hey another question. Cell Point does not have Safran du Gatinais
chemical.
> > > Does anyone no where I can get some?
> >
> > This was the name of the saffron (a yellow dye obtained
> > from crocus stigmas) used by P.J.Masson in his trichrome
> > technique (now usually done with a different set of
> > dyes), and it's also the yellow collagen stain in
> > Movat's 1955 "pentachrome" procedure.
> >
> > A fairly recent paper recommends using saffron
> > bought from a health food store - Garvey, W (1991)
> > J. Histotechnol. 14: 163-165. It might be necessary
> > to fiddle with the concentration, because it's
> > sold for use as a food colorant, not for labs.
> >
> > --
> > -------------------------
> > John A. Kiernan
> > Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
> > The University of Western Ontario
> > London,   Canada   N6A 5C1
> >    kiernan@uwo.ca
> >    http://publish.uwo.ca/~jkiernan/
>
> --
> Hermina M. Borgerink, BA, HTL(ASCP)HT, IHQ
> Department of Pathology
> Wake Forest University School of Medicine
> Winston-Salem, N.C. 27157
> PH (336) 716-1538
> Fax (336) 716-1515
>
>