Anaerobic Culture Media used in anaerobic bacteriology may be prepared in a fresh manner or bought from commercial vendors.
Media for anaerobic fermentation that is created in the laboratory should be used within two weeks after the time of preparation, as prolonged storage can degrade the quality of the medium due to peroxide accumulation and dehydration.
Anaerobic culture media is a source of reducers such as cysteine.
Anaerobically sterilized and pre-reduced media are made by various commercial providers, with an prolonged shelf lives that range from 6 months.
The most common plating medium for inoculating anaerobic samples is non-selective blood-agar, as well as one or more of the above mentioned selective media.
Anaerobic Culture Media Examples
Nonselective media used in anaerobic bacteriology
Cooked meat broth (e.g. Robertson’s Cooked Meat Medium): It is a non-selective medium for the cultivation of anaerobic bacteria; when combined with glucose, it can be used in gas-liquid chromatography.
Anaerobic blood agar: It is a non-selective media used to separate facultative anaerobes as well as anaerobes.
Egg-yolk agar (EYA): Non-selective media used for the determination of lipase and lecithinase formation through Clostridia as well as Fusobacteria.
Peptone-yeast extract glucose broth (PYG): It is a non-selective medium to cultivate anaerobic bacteria for gas-liquid chromatography.
Selective and differential media used in anaerobic bacteriology
Bacteroides bile esculin agar (BBE): BBE is selective and differentiable for Bacteroides fragilis and is effective for preliminary detection.
Laked Kanamycin-vancomycin blood agar (LKV): It is specific for the identification of Prevotella as well as Bacteroides spp.
Anaerobic phenylethyl alcohol agar (PEA): A selective mediua for inhibit rods that are gram-negative and swarming certain Clostridia.
Cycloserine cefoxitin fructose agar (CCFA): Selective for Clostridium difficile.
Thioglycollate broth: It is a nonselective broth for cultivation of anaerobes and aerobes and facultative anaerobes.
