Lugol’s Iodine is a rapid, non-specific
contrast dye that is added to direct wet mounts of
fecal material to aid in differentiating parasitic
cysts from host white blood cells. Many protozoa
and cysts take up the dye and appear brown while
other objects in the sample remain clear. Iodine
stains protozoan nuclei and intracytoplasmic
organelles brown making them easier to identify.