Which tissue is commonly used as the quality control tissue to assess glycogen staining with best carmine?

• A. Liver
• B. Brain
• C. Heart
• D. Spleen

Answer: (A)

Quality control for glycogen staining relies on using a tissue with abundant, reliably distributed glycogen so you can confidently tell whether the staining procedure is working. The liver fits this role best because hepatocytes store large amounts of glycogen in the cytoplasm. When Best’s carmine successfully stains glycogen, you’ll see a strong magenta color within liver cells, providing a clear, consistent positive signal that validates the fixation, oxidation, and staining steps. If the liver tissue doesn’t show this expected staining, it signals a technical issue with the procedure.

Brain, heart, and spleen can contain glycogen, but in much smaller or more variable amounts, making them less dependable as a standard positive control for this stain.