Name two substances that are used to demo specific carbohydrates.

• A. Diastase and hyaluronidase
• B. Amylase and Protease
• C. Hyaluronidase and Trypsin
• D. Glutaraldehyde and Formalin

Answer: (A)

Understanding how to reveal or distinguish different carbohydrate components in tissue sections often relies on enzymatic pretreatment. Diastase (a glycogen-digesting enzyme) is used before staining to see whether a positive carbohydrate signal comes from glycogen; if the signal disappears after diastase, it was glycogen, whereas persistent staining points to other carbohydrates. Hyaluronidase digests hyaluronic acid, a mucopolysaccharide, so using it helps demonstrate or differentiate glycosaminoglycans and related carbohydrate-rich substances in the tissue. Together, these two enzymes are employed to test for and characterize specific carbohydrates in histology.

The other options mix enzymes that target non-carbohydrate components (proteases like trypsin digest proteins) or use fixatives, none of which serve the same purpose of selectively demonstrating carbohydrate-containing substances in this context.