Principle
- Blood agar base is a modification of blood agar base with a slight deviation in composition and pH.
- The media is composed of peptone, tryptone, sodium chloride, and agar. Peptone and tryptone provide nitrogen, amino acids, carbon, vitamins, and other necessary growth factors necessary for the growth of microorganisms.
- Sodium chloride maintains osmotic balance and agar is a solidifying agent. The media need supplementation of blood (5-10%), which provides additional growth factors for fastidious microorganisms and is the basis for determining hemolytic reactions.
- The media can also be used as general-purpose media without the addition of blood.
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Use:
Recommended by APHA (2015) for isolating and cultivating fastidious microorganisms with or without added blood.
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PARAMETERS
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STANDARD VALUES
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PHYSICAL PARAMETERS:
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Dehydrated Powder
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Description
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A fine, free-flowing, hygroscopic powder.
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Color
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Beige-colored powder.
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Solution
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Solubility
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Soluble in Distilled / de-ionized water at 50˚ C
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Color
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Dark amber, slightly opalescent
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pH
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7.4 ±0.2 at 25 ˚C (40.00 g/ l)
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Agar Plates
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Solidification
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40 ˚C
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Color
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Without blood: dark amber, slightly opalescent gel. With 5% blood: cherry red, opaque gel.
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