A New Medium from Ram Horn Hydrolysate for Enumeration of Aerobic Bacteria

Authors: ESABİ BAŞARAN KURBANOĞLU, Ö. FARUK ALGUR

Abstract: A new medium prepared from ram horn hydrolysate was utilized for the enumeration of aerobic bacteria from environmental samples. First, horns were ground and 35 g of horn flour was hydrolyzed chemically. The hydrolyzed material was completed to 400 ml with deionized water and this resulting solution was termed ram horn hydrolysate (RHH). It was found that it has both organic and inorganic materials sufficient for use as a bacterial medium. The RHH was enriched by the addition of glucose, yeast extract and KH_2PO_4. The effects of different concentrations (1 to 10% v/v) of RHH on the growth of bacteria from environmental samples were investigated; 4% of RHH was found to be optimal and it was called Kurbanoğlu-Algur Agar (KAA). The new medium (KAA) contains 10 g of glucose, 1 g of yeast extract, 40 ml of the hydrolysate, 1 g of KH_2PO_4 and 15 g of agar per liter of laboratory quality water. KAA medium was tested against plate count agar (PCA), nutrient agar (NA) and trypticase soy agar (TSA) for its ability to support the growth of bacteria in pure cultures and environmental samples such as soil, water, milk and meat. KAA medium yielded significantly (P < 0.05) higher bacterial counts than PCA and NA did, but lower (not statistically significant) counts than those of TSA. In conclusion, KAA was found to be a suitable medium for the enumeration of aerobic bacteria from environmental samples.

Keywords: Bacterial medium, fibrous proteins, horn, peptone, protein hydrolysate.

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