The effectiveness of 70% Alcohol solution and 4% formalin as preservative for Wet Herbarium

Departemen of Biology, Universitas Negeri Surabaya

^* Corresponding author: rizkioxi@unesa.ac.id

Abstract

Laboratory activity is one of the important activities carried out in the biology learning process. One of the student practicum activities is making a herbarium. Making a herbarium aims to preserve specimens obtained in nature and to facilitate the learning process in several subjects. Methods for making herbarium are divided into 2, namely wet herbarium and dry herbarium. In this study, a wet herbarium was prepared using 2 solutions, namely 70% alcohol and 4% formalin. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of 70% alcohol and 4% formalin as a preservative for wet herbarium. The stages of this research included dilution of the solution, treatment of preserved specimens, treatment and observation of wet herbarium specimens. The effectiveness of the pickling solution was seen from the turbidity of the solution as measured using a turbidimeter and the morphology of the specimen. The results of this study were that 4% formalin was effective as a preservative for wet herbarium in fruits.