Nutrient Agar, 1.5%, 500 g

Nutrient Agar is recommended for cultivation and maintenance of nonfastidious microorganisms. Recently ISO Committee (2) has recommended it with a slight modification (M087I) for subcultivation of Pseudomonas species isolated from meat and meat products. Peptic digest of animal tissue is the principal source of organic nitrogen while Beef extract provides carbohydrates, vitamins, organic nitrogen compounds and salts. Sodium chloride makes the medium isotonic preventing haemolysis of red blood corpuscles. This Nutrient Agar may be used for blood culturing work after the addition of sterile 5% v/v defibrinated blood and additional Sodium chloride (3g/l) (1). Storage and Shelf-life: Store below 30°C in tightly closed container and the prepared medium at 2 - 8°C. Use before expiry date on the label. References: 1.Speck M. (Ed.), 1984, Compendium of Methods for the Microbiological Examination of Foods, 2nd ed., APHA, Washington D.C. 2.International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 1995, Draft ISO/DIS 13720. 3.Pelczar, Chan and Kreig, 1986, Microbiology, 5th ed., McGraw Hill Book Co., N.Y.