Which of the following is an alternative lipid stain mentioned in the material?

• A. Sudan Black B
• B. Alcian Blue
• C. PAS
• D. Prussian Blue

Answer: (A)

Stains that selectively reveal lipids are used to visualize fat and lipid droplets in tissue. Sudan Black B is a classic lipid stain because it binds to neutral fats, making lipid-rich areas appear dark or black under the microscope. This specificity is what makes it the best choice for identifying lipids among the options. The other stains target different substances: Alcian Blue stains acidic mucopolysaccharides and glycosaminoglycans, PAS highlights carbohydrates such as glycogen and mucosubstances, and Prussian Blue detects iron in hemosiderin. In practice, lipid visualization often requires frozen sections or special processing because routine paraffin embedding can remove lipids, which is why a lipid-specific stain like Sudan Black B is used to confirm lipid presence.