PENGARUH VARIASI WAKTU RENDAMAN BUNGA ROSELLA (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) SEBAGAI PEWARNA ALTERNATIF PENGGANTI SAFRANIN

Escherichia coli is one of the bacteria that is classified as a gram-negative bacterium and the main cause of diarrhea. One of the identifications of E. coli bacteria is Gram staining using safranin. However, the use of safranin tends to be expensive and carcinogenic. Therefore, alternative dyes from natural compound such as rosella flowers are needed. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa L) soaking time as a substitute for safranin on E. coli Staining. This research was conducted by quasi-experiments, using purposive sampling with a total of 27 samples. The soaking time variations of rosella were 24, 36, and 48 hours, respectively. The statistical test using Fisher's Exact showed the p-value <0.00 which stated that there were significant differences between the results of staining using Hisbiscus sabdariffa L soaking time variations and control (safranin). The present study exhibited the potency of Hisbiscus sabdariffa L as an alternative dye for E. coli staining, but had not shown better results compared to safranin.