Ingredients of blood agar

Answer 1

It depends on the type of blood agar you are using.

Blood agar generallly means whatever agar you are using + 5-10% of some type of mammalian blood (sheep, horse, rabbit, etc).

I generally use TSA + 5% Sheep blood or Brucella Agar + 5% Horse blood, for instance.

Answer 2

trypticase soy agar (TSA) mixed with sheep blood (blood agar)

its one of the most used agar types for identifying bacteria, because most bacteria can grow on it,

a few examples are Bacillus and Stahpylococcus

(known for food poisoning)

the agar also alows you to see if the bacteria does hemolysis on blood

Answer 3

Blood agar is a solid growth medium that contains red blood cells. The medium is used to detect bacteria that produce enzymes to break apart the blood cells. This process is also termed hemolysis. The degree to which the blood cells are hemolyzed is used to distinguish bacteria from one another.

The blood agar medium is prepared in a two-step process. First, a number of ingredients are added to water, including heart infusion, peptone, and sodium chloride. This solution is sterilized. Following sterilization, a known amount of sterile blood is added. The blood can be from rabbit or sheep. Rabbit blood is preferred if the target bacterium is from the group known as group A Streptococcus. Sheep blood is preferred if the target bacterium is Haemophilus parahaemolyticus.

Blood agar is a rich food source for bacteria. So, it can be used for primary culturing, that is, as a means of obtaining as wide a range of bacterial growth from a sample as possible. It is typically not used for this purpose, however, due to the expense of the medium. Other, less expensive agars will do the same thing. What blood agar is uniquely suited for is the determination of hemolysis.

Hemolysis is the break down of the membrane of red blood cells by a bacterial protein known as hemolysin, which causes the release of hemoglobin from the red blood cell. Many types of bacterial posses hemolytic proteins. These proteins are thought to act by integrating into the membrane of the red blood cell and either punching a hole through the membrane or disrupting the structure of the membrane in some other way. The exact molecular details of hemolysin action is still unresolved.

The blood used in the agar is also treated beforehand to remove a molecule called fibrin, which participates in the clotting of blood. The absence of fibrin ensures that clotting of the blood does not occur in the agar, which could interfere with the visual detection of the hemolytic reactions.

Answer 4

1. Defibrinated or anticoagulated blood.

2. Agar

Answer 5

Hope this helps! It was in my microbiology lab book so I bet it's right :)

beef extract (3.0g) soluble starch (10.0) agar (12.0) distilled water (1,000.0 ml)

Answer 6

A nutrient media, agar, and 5-10% blood

Answer 7

5-10% sheep or horse blood