Article Text
Research Article
Selenium and the growth of Haemophilus ducreyi.
Abstract
One of the growth media in current use for Haemophilus ducreyi comprises Mueller Hinton agar, chocolatised horse blood, serum and IsoVitalex (BBL). For a better understanding of growth factors, attempts were made to simplify this complex medium. The horse blood was replaced by haemin (200 micrograms/ml), the serum by albumin (0.2%), and IsoVitalex was substituted only by L-glutamine 0.01%. Most of the strains grew, but when selenium ions were added in a concentration of 3.25 x 10(-3) micrograms/ml, growth was stimulated and became more luxuriant than growth on conventional media.