Abstract :
In the field of health, especially in the field of laboratory microbiology, staining is one of
the most important parts. The staining serves to make it easier to see bacteria using a microscope,
clarifying the size and shape of the bacteria. The bacterial stain that is commonly used is the
gram stain. Gram staining is an empirical method for distinguishing bacterial species, namely
gram-positive bacteria and gram-negative bacteria. Curcuma domestica Val is one of the natural
dyes which contains phenolic compounds, this compound is contained in one of the dyes in
Gram stain. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Curcuma domestica Val can be
used as a substitute for primary dye in the gram staining technique.
This research design is descriptive. The research was carried out at the National STIKES
Bacteriology Laboratory in Surakarta from February to July 2020. The population in this study
was Curcuma domestica Val which was obtained at the Palur market using the Quota Sampling
technique.
The results of this study were that turmeric (Curcuma domestica Val) was unable to color
bacterial cells because the phenolic compounds in turmeric (Curcuma domestica Val) contained
in the composition of Gram A paint still could not replace the function of Gram A in bacterial
staining. However, turmeric (Curcuma domestica Val) can be smeared with Gram C paint and
produce a clean background.
The conclusion of this study is that turmeric (Curcuma domestica Val) cannot be used as a
substitute for the main dye in Gram stain.