BHI AGAR (BRAIN HEART INFUSION AGAR WITH 1% AGAR)

Description

BHI Agar with 1% Agar is similar in composition to Brain Heart Infusion Agar, with the difference being in the concentration of Agar. It is a highly nutritious and can support luxuriant growth of wide variety of microorganisms. It can be further enriched by the addition of blood or rendered selective by adding different antibiotics. It is a general purpose medium used for primary isolation of aerobic bacteria from clinical specimens. Addition of 50 mg/l chloramphenicol or 40mg/l streptomycin or a mixture of 50mg/l gentamicin and 50mg/l chloramphenicol along with 5-10% sterile defibrinated blood is often recommended for inhibition of bacteria and isolation of pathogenic systemic fungi. A mixture of cycloheximide (0.5 g/l) and chloramphenicol (0.05 g/l) is also used for selective isolation of pathogenic fungi (incubation at 25-30?C for 1-2 weeks). Some fungi may be inhibited on this medium with 10% sheep blood, gentamicin and chloramphenicol.