Culture media used in microbiology

Image Source: Sigma-Aldrich

1. Nutrient agar(1% to 2%) –> Basal media in microbiology, Supports the growth of all non-fastidious organisms
2. MacConkey Agar—> Differential media for Enterobacteriaceae ( i.e. Lactose fermenting and non-lactose fermenting)
3. Mannitol Salt Agar–> Selective and indicator media for S. aureus
4. Triple Sugar Iron(TSI) medium–> Differentiation of various members of Enterobacteriaceae
5. Robertson Cooked Meat Broth(RCMB)–> Growth of anaerobes (e.g Clostridium)
6. Alkaline peptone water–> Enrichment media for Vibrio cholerae
7. Castaneda Medium–> Biphasic medium for isolation of Brucella
8. Buffered Charcoal Yeast Agar (BCYA)–> Specialized media for isolation of Legionella
9. Egg Saline Medium–> Preservation of cultures of Gram-negative bacilli
10. Egg Yolk Agar–> Detection of lipase and lecithinase activity of Clostridium species
11. Lowenstein-Jensen Medium, Middle brook media–> Selective media for isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
12. Mueller-Hinton Agar–> Performing antimicrobial susceptibility for bacteria
13. Wilkins-Chalgren Agar–> Performing antimicrobial susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria
14. Bile Esculin Agar( contains 40% bile)–> Selective media for Enterococcus species (Black coloration of the medium)
15. Peptone water–> Basis for indole test, basal media for preparation of carbohydrate fermentation media
16. Chocolate agar–> Growth of fastidious organisms( e.g. Hemophilus influenzae, Neisseria gonorrhoea, and S. pneumoniae)
17. Blood agar: Enriched media that support the growth of fastidious organisms. Indicator media to show hemolytic properties:
    • Beta-Hemolytic–>> Staphylococcus aureus
    • Alpha-Hemolytic–>> Streptococcus pneumoniae and S. viridans
    • Non-Hemolytic–>> Enterococcus