VetBact

Applications:

Fastidious anaerobic agar (FAA plates) are used for cultivation of anaerobic bacteria of clinical significance under oxygen-free conditions.

The medium contains:

• peptone (enzymatic digests of animal tissue or milk, which is a source for nitrogen, carbohydrates, and vitamines)
• starch and bicarbonate, which neutralize toxic metabolites
• hemin and vitamin K, which constitute growth factors for many anaerobic bacteria
• cysteine, which decreases the redox potential of the medium
• pyruvate, which contributes to the neutralization of hydrogen peroxide
• horse blood (5%), which contains nutrients and also makes it possible to observe hemolysis

Other comments:

Note that facultatively anaerobic bacteria are also growing on these plates, but not as good as on ordinary blood agar plates.

Updated: 2018-05-09.