Eugonic HiVeg™ Broth

Principle And Interpretation

Eugonic Broth was developed by Pelczar and Vera (1) for cultivation of fastidious organisms like Brucella. This medium can also be used to grow Mycobacteria and various pathogenic fungi including Nocardia, Histoplasma and Blastomyces, when enriched with blood. Niven used this media for detection of spoilage of meats (2). Eugonic Broth was developed to obtain eugonic (luxuriant) growth of fastidious microorganisms like Brucella which are otherwise difficult to cultivate (3). The unenriched medium supports rapid growth of lactobacilli associated with cured meat products, dairy products and other foods. APHA recommends Eugonic Broth, which is also used in germinating anaerobic spores pasteurized at 104°C (4,5). Organisms like Bordetella and Neisseria proliferate in Eugonic HiVeg™ Broth because large amount of sulfur and carbon sources have been added in the formulation. Therefore Eugonic HiVeg™ Broth is recommended for the direct isolation of Bordetella pertussis and Neisseria meningitides from the test materials such as throat mucus, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, pleural fluid and other specimens. For the isolation of Bacillus pumilus, Eugonic HiVeg™ Broth can be supplemented with 0.1% starch, prior to sterilization (3) Eugonic HiVeg™ Broth is prepared by using vegetable peptones in place of animal based peptones which make the media free of BSE/TSE risks. HiVeg™ hydrolysate and Soya peptone provide the nitrogen, vitamins and amino acids, which supports the growth of fastidious microbial species. The high concentration of dextrose is the energy source for rapid growth of bacteria. L-Cystine and sodium sulphite are added to stimulate growth. Sodium chloride maintains the osmotic balance of the media. The high carbohydrate content along with high sulfur (cystine) content improves growth with chromogenicity (4).