Application

Malt Extract Agar is recommended for the detection, isolation and enumeration of fungi, particularly yeasts and molds, in various materials and for the cultivation of the strains for microbiological vitamin assays

Footnote

We offer two media types: the superior granulated GranuCult^® and the cost-efficient powdered NutriSelect^® culture media, depending on your needs. The designations basic, plus, or prime are added to indicate the quality control level, from basic quality control to standard QC plus to prime for full regulatory compliance.

General description

Malt extract agar is considered as a general growth media due to their richness and nutrient balance. It is suitable for the cultivation of fastidious microorganisms. With acidic pH, they are used for the isolation, cultivation and maintenance of yeast and molds. Malt extract contains polysaccharides which are used as energy source. Mycological peptone serves as a nitrogen source and agar is the solidifying agent rapidly yielding a luxuriant growth with typical morphology and pigmentation. Lactic acid, tartaric acid or antibiotics can be added to suppress bacterial growth and make the medium more selective. Reiss recommends a modified malt extract medium for the selective cultivation of Aspergillus flavus. According to Rapp, addition of certain indicator dyes to malt extract agar allows differentiation of yeast and bacterial colonies.

Legal Information

NutriSelect is a registered trademark of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

GRANUCULT is a registered trademark of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

Other Notes

Biological attributes of colony-type variants of Candida albicans; Volatile metabolites and other indicators of P. aurantiogriseum - growth on different substrates

Preparation Note

Suspend 50 g in 1 litre of distilled water and bring to the boil to dissolve. Sterilize by autoclaving at 115°C for 10 minutes. For inhibition of bacterial growth, 2 ml of a 10% sterile filtered lactic acid can be added to adjust the pH to 3.5.