List of culture media used in

microbiology with their uses

Media
Alkaline Peptone Water
Alkaline Salt Transport Medium
Taurocholate Peptone Transport Medium

Uses
Enrichment media for Vibrio cholerae
Transport media for diarrheal diseases
suspected of being caused by V. cholerae
Liquid media by addition of

Anaerobic Media

Glucose (0.5 % to 1 %)

Ascorbic Acid (0.1 %)

Cysteine (0.1 %)

Sodium Merceptoacetate (0.1 %)

Thioglycollate (0.1 %)

Particles of cooked meat broth

Bile Salt Agar

Thiosulphate Citrate Bile Salts-Sucrose
Agar (TCBS)

Selective media for V. cholerae

Monsurs Tellurite Taurocholate Gelatin Agar

Bile Esculin Agar (Contains 40% Bile)

Blood Agar

Selective media for Enterococcus species

(Black coloration of the medium)

Enriched media (Supports the growth of

fastidious organisms, e.g. Streptococcus)

Indicator media to show hemolytic

properties of certain organisms

(Staphylococcus aureus: -

Hemolytic; Streptococcus pneumonia and S

viridans: -Hemolytic; Enterococcus: NonHemolytic)

Bordet-Gengou Agar
Charcoal Blood Agar
Regan-Lowe Medium (Charcoal Agar with

Isolation of Bordetella pertussis

blood, cephalexin and Amphotericin B)

Brain Heart Infusion Broth

Used in blood culture bottles (both adult and

pediatric patients)

Buffered Charcoal Yeast Agar (BCYA)

Feeley Gorman Agar

Campylobacter Thioglycollate Broth

Specialized media for isolation of Legionella

Selective holding media for recovery

ofCampylobacter species

Castaneda Medium

Biphasic medium for the isolation of Brucella

Cefoxitin Cycloserine Fructose Agar (CCFA)

Selective media for isolation of Clostridium

Cefoxitin Cycloserine Egg-Yolk Agar

(CCEY)

difficile form suspected cases of

pseudomembranous colitis/antibioticassociated diaeehea

Cefsulodin-Irgasan-Novobiocin medium

Selective media for Yersinia (and may be used

(CIN Medium)

forAeromonas also)

Columbia-Colistin Nalidixic Acid agar (CNA

Selective media for the isolation of Gram-

Agar)

positive cocci

Cooked meat broth

In general, used for preservation and storage

Nutrient agar slopes

of bacterial cultures

 Semisolid nutrient agar stabs

Heated blood agar slopes
Crystal violet blood agar

Selective media for Streptococcus pyogenes

Cysteine Lactose Electrolyte Decient

Most commonly used media for culturing urine

Media (CLED Media)

samples

Egg Saline Medium

Egg Yolk Agar

Preservation of cultures of Gram-negative

bacilli
Detection of lipase and lecithinase activity
ofClostridium species

Ellners Medium
Medium of Duncan and Strong
Medium of Phillips

Specialized media to induce sporulation

inClostridium

Alkaline Egg Medium

Fildes Blood-Digest Agar and Broth
Levinthals Agar

Firm Agar (4% to 6% Agar)

Enriched media for recovery of Haemophilus

inuenzae
Prevents swarming of Proteus mirabilis, P.
vulgarisand Clostridium tetani

Fletchers Agar
Ellinghausen and McCullough Medium
Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris

Solid media for isolation of Leptospira

(EMJH) Media
Glycerol Saline Transport Medium

Transport stool specimen for typhoid bacilli

Heated Blood Agar/Chocolate Agar

Growth of fastidious organisms

(E.g. Hemophilus inuenzae, Neisseria

gonorrhoeae and S. pneumoniae
Hoyles Tellurite Lysed Blood Agar
Tinsdale Medium

Loefer Serum Slope

Lowenstein-Jensen Medium
Middlebrook Media

Selective media for isolation

of Corynebacteriumfrom throat swabs
Stimulation of metachromatic granules
inCorynebacterium diphtheriae
Selective media for isolation of Mycobacterium
tuberculosis from sputum and other samples
Differential media for Enterobacteriacaeae

MacConkey Agar

(i.e., lactose fermenting and non-lactose

fermenting)

MacConkey Bile Salt Lactose Agar

Brilliant MacConkey Agar
Leifsons Deoxycholate-Citrate Agar (DCA)
Wilson and Blairs Brilliant Green BismuthSulphite Agar (BBSA)
Taylors Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate Agar

Differential and media for isolation

of Salmonellaand Shigella from stool
specimens

(XLD)
Hektoen Enteric Agar
SalmonellaShigella Agar
Mannitol Salt Agar
Modied Barbour Stoenner Kelly medium
(BSK)
Modied Korthoffs Medium

Selective and indicator media for S. aureus

Specialized media for Borrelia burgdorferi
Liquid media for isolation of Leptospira

 Modied New York City Medium (contains

colistin, lincomycin, trimethoprim, amphotericin

Selective media for Neisseria gonorrhoeae

B)
Mueller-Hinton Agar

Performing antimicrobial susceptibility for

bacteria
Basal media in microbiology

Nutrient Agar (1% to 2% Agar)

Supports the growth of all non-fastidious

organisms

Non-Nutrient Agar

Cultivation of parasites (e.g., Acanthamoeba)

Basal media for preparation for

carbohydrate fermentation media

Peptone Water

non-motile

Phenol-Red Egg Yolk Polymyxin Agar

To ascertain whether a bacteria is motile or

Basis for Indole test

Selective media for isolation of Bacillus

cereusfrom food, feces, and vomitus
Preservation of S. pyogenes, pneumococci,

Pikes Media

andHemophilus inuenzae in nose and throat

swabs
Selective media for isolation of Bacillus

Polymyxin B-lysozyme-EDTA-Thallous

anthracisfrom soil and other medium materials

Acetate (PLET)

containing numerous spore formers of other

species

Polymyxin B, Neomycin, Fusidic Acid Media

Selective media for S. pyogenes (or -

(PNF)

hemolyticStreptococcus)

 PPLO Medium (Contains Sterol)

Specialized media for Mycoplasma

pneumoniae

Pre-Reduced Anaerobically Sterilized

Commercially available media for anaerobic

(PRAS) Media

organisms

Proteose Peptone-Yeast Extraction Broth

Media for carrying out biochemical tests for

anaerobes

Requirements of X and V Factors

Isolation of Haemophilus inuenzae

Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI)

Cultivation of malarial parasites

1640 Medium

(i.e., Plasmodium)

Robertson Cooked Meat Broth (RCMB)

Growth of anaerobes (e.g., Clostridium)

Maintaining stock cultures of anaerobic

organisms
Salt-Cooked Meat Broth (Cooked Meat

Enrichment media for isolation of S.

Broth with 10% NaCl)

aureus from heavily contaminated materials

Prevents convection current and allows the

Semisolid Agar (0.05% to 0.1% Agar)

growth of anaerobic and micro-aerophilic

organisms

Skirrows Campylobacter Medium (contains

polymixin B, trimethoprim, vancomycin)
Preston Campylobacter Medium (contains
polymixin B, rifampicin, trimethoprim)

Selective media for Campylobacter jejuni

Campy Blood Agar

CVA Medium (contains cefoperazone,
vancomycin, amphotericin)

Smith-Noguchi Medium

Cultivation of nonpathogenic treponemes (e.g.,

Reiter strain of Treponema phagedenis)

Isolation of verocytotoxin-producing
Sorbitol MacConkey Agar

(enterohemorrhagic) E. coli of 0157 type (as it

fails to ferment D-sorbitol)

Stuart Transport Media

Amies Transport Media

Maintaining the viability of gonococci on swabs

during transportation

Tetrathionate Broth
Gram-Negative Broth
Selenite-F Broth
Thayer-Martin Medium (contains
vancomycin, colistin, nystatin)
Thioglycollate Broth
Trypticase Soy Broth

Todd Hewitt Broth with Antibiotics

Triple Sugar Iron Agar (TSI) Medium

Enrichment media for isolation

of Shigella andSalmonella from stool samples

Selective media for Neisseria gonorrhoeae

All purpose enrichment broth for anaerobes,
aerobes, micro-aerophilic, and fastidious
organisms
Selective and enrichment for Streptococccus
agalactiae in female genital specimens
Differentiation of various members of
Enterobacteriaceae
Performing antimicrobial susceptibility of

Wilkins-Chalgren Agar

anaerobic bacteria