PHARMACEUTICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND PARASITOLOGY
CULTURE AND CULTURE MEDIA
CULTURES
● Growth of microorganisms in a culture media.
Utilizing effective and appropriate culture media for
growth, transport, and storage facilitates the study
in Bacteriology
CULTURE MEDIA
● Composed of a mixture of nutrients such as carbon,
nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, hydrogen, oxygen and
buffers
TYPES: Liquid, Semi-solid and Solid Medium
TYPES OF CULTURE
PURE CULTURE - It is composed of only one species
MIXED CULTURE - It is composed of more than one species
STOCK CULTURE
- It is composed several culture species contained in
a separate culture medium (one species per culture
medium).
- It is used for academic and industrial purposes.
CLASSIFICATION OF CULTURE MEDIA
A. ACCORDING TO CONSISTENCY
1. LIQUID MEDIUM
- It does not contain any amount of agar
- It allows the growth of aerobes, anaerobes and
facultative anaerobes
- Ex: Brain heart infusion, trypticase soy broth (TSB)
and thioglycollate.
2. SEMI-SOLID MEDIUM
- It contains 0.5% to 1% Agar
- It is used to observe bacterial motility and detect
indole and sulfide production
- Ex: Sulfide Indole Motility (SIM) Medium
3. SOLID MEDIUM
- It contains 2% to 3% agar
- Ex: Triple sugar Iron (TSI) agar, MacCOnkey (MAC)
agar, Blood agar plate (BAP) and Chocolate agar
plate (CAP)
B. ACCORDING TO COMPOSITION
1. SYNTHETIC OR DEFINED MEDIUM
- Medium in which all the components are known
- Used for research purposes
- Preferred for isolation of cyanobacterium and
chemoorganotrophs
- Ex: BG-11 medium
2. NON-SYNTHETIC or COMPLEX MEDIUM
- Medium in which some substances are unknown
- Peptones, Meat and Yeast Extract
- Useful for isolation of medically significant bacteria
- Ex: Nutrient broth (NB) broth medium, TSB and
MAC agar
3. TISSUE CULTURE MEDIUM
- Used for obligate intracellular bacteria (Rickettsia
and Chlamydia)
- Example: W138 cells, HeLA 299 Cells and McCoy
cells
- HeLa 299 cells - Human cervical tissue
- McCoy cells – Fibroblast
- W138 cells - Fibroblast
C. ACCORDING TO THE DISPENSING OR DISTRIBUTION
PLATE MEDIA - Distributed into the dish or plate
TUBE MEDIA - Prepared as either liquid, slant, butt and
slant or butt
EXAMPLES:
 Triple sugar iron (TSI)
 SIM
 Simmon’s citrate agar
 Lysine iron agar (LIA)
D. ACCORDING TO USE
1. SIMPLE MEDIA, GENERAL PURPOSE MEDIA AND
SUPPORTIVE MEDIA
- Routinely used in the laboratory and without
additional supplement
- Support the growth of most non-fastidious bacteria
- Usually composed of meat and soybean extract
- Ex: Nutrient agar, Nutrient broth and Tryptone soy
broth (TSB)
2. Enrichment media (Liquid-type media)
- Used to propagate the growth of certain group of
bacteria from a mixture of organisms.
- Contain specific nutrients and without additional
supplement
- Example: Alkaline peptone water, Selenite F,
Thioglycollate, Tetrathionate, Gram-negative (GN)
broth and Lim broth
BLOOD AGAR PLATE- Hemolytic pattern of bacteria
CHOCOLATE AGAR PLATE - Recovery of Haemophilus
 PHARMACEUTICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND PARASITOLOGY
4. Differential Media Xylose lysine desoxycholate Agar

- These media allow the visualization of metabolic

differences between groups of bacteria
- Example: MAC, BAP, eosin methylene blue (EMB)
and Hektoen Enteric Agar (HEA)

MacConkey Agar - Indicator: Neutral red

Blood Agar Plate - Differentiate hemolytic pattern of

streptococci

5. Selective Media
6. Special Media
- These media are incorporated with antibiotics, dyes
or chemicals to inhibit the growth of other - Used to isolate bacteria with specific growth
organisms. requirements
- Example: HEA, MAC, Xylose lysine desoxycholate - Example: Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium and
(XLD) agar, Bismuth sulfate agar (BSA), Mannitol Thiosulfate citrate–bile salts-sucrose (TCBS) agar.
Salt Agar (MSA) and Thayer-Martin Agar (TMA)
LOWENSTEIN-JENSEN MEDIUM
Other selective media:

 Gentamicin blood agar: Streptococcus

 Bacitracin chocolate agar: Haemophilus
 Blood agar plate with ampicillin: Aeromonas
 Phenylethyl alcohol: Gram positive bacteria
 Colistin-Nalidixic acid (CNA) agar: Gram positive
bacteria

Inhibitory substances
Composed of Whole eggs and malachite green
Gram Positive Bacteria Crystal/Gentian violet, basic/carbol
fuchsin and bile salt

Gram Negative Potassium tellurite and sodium

Bacteria azide

For Swarming Bacteria Alcohol and chloral hydrate

MEDIA DESCRIPTION

Hektoen Enteric Agar Bile salt and dyes: Inhibit indigenous

(HEA) microbiota of LGIT; used for
recovery of fecal bacteria
pH indicator: Bromthymol blue

MacConkey Agar Bile salts and crystal violet: inhibit

(MAC gram-positive bacteria; used for
recovery of fecal bacteria

Xylose Lysine Xylose, lysine, sucrose, 0.25%

Desoxycholate Agar sodium desoxycholate and sodium
(XLD) thiosulfate; for fecal bacteria
Differentiate: Shigella and
Salmonella

Mannitol Salt Agar Support growth of Staphylococcus

(MSA) aureus

Thayer-Martin Agar Selective for Neisseria sp.

(TMA)