What stain is used for neutral polysaccharides?

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Multiple Choice

What stain is used for neutral polysaccharides?

Explanation:
Periodic acid–Schiff is used to highlight neutral polysaccharides. The process oxidizes the sugar’s vicinal diols to aldehydes, which then react with Schiff reagent to give a magenta color. This makes neutral carbohydrates like glycogen and other neutral polysaccharides readily visible in tissues. Alcian Blue, by contrast, stains acidic mucopolysaccharides and mucins, not neutral ones, so it isn’t used for neutral polysaccharides. Congo Red targets amyloid, not carbohydrates, and diastase is an enzyme used with PAS to differentiate glycogen (which is removed by diastase) from other carbohydrates, not a stain itself.

Periodic acid–Schiff is used to highlight neutral polysaccharides. The process oxidizes the sugar’s vicinal diols to aldehydes, which then react with Schiff reagent to give a magenta color. This makes neutral carbohydrates like glycogen and other neutral polysaccharides readily visible in tissues. Alcian Blue, by contrast, stains acidic mucopolysaccharides and mucins, not neutral ones, so it isn’t used for neutral polysaccharides. Congo Red targets amyloid, not carbohydrates, and diastase is an enzyme used with PAS to differentiate glycogen (which is removed by diastase) from other carbohydrates, not a stain itself.

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