SA AGAR BASE (as per APHA)

Description

The isolation of Aeromonas hydrophila group has been extensively studied by clinical microbiologists and many media have been developed for their isolation. It was found that clinical media were not suitable because of lower recovery percentage and difficulties in distinguishing the A. hydrophila group from the background microflora. To overcome these difficulties, Starch Ampicillin (SA) Agar was formulated as described by Palumbo et al and is a slight modification of SA Agar recommended by APHA for isolation and cultivation of A. hydrophila from foods. Very few bacteria in food are capable of hydrolyzing starch. Starch hydrolysis is a differentiating character for A. hydrophila. SA Agar is also used for the quantitative detection of Aeromonas hydrophila, A. sobria and A. caviae in fresh foods of animal origin and fresh vegetable. A. sobria and A. caviae are further identified by biochemical tests. Starch hydrolysis is determined by flooding 5 ml of Lugols Iodine solution per plate.