Oxoid™ MRS Agar Pre-Poured Plates Pk 10

Cultivate, isolate, and enumerate lactic acid bacteria using MRS Agar.
The formulation was developed by de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe¹ to replace a variable component (tomato juice) and to provide a medium that supports strong growth of lactobacilli in general, including strains that previously showed poor growth in existing media. This medium promotes more profuse growth of all strains of lactobacilli, especially the difficult and slow-growing strains such as Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus fermenti¹,².

Applications
Use M.R.S. Agar for the enumeration and isolation of lactic acid bacteria from food samples. M.R.S. Agar encourages the growth of lactic acid bacteria, including species belonging to the following genera: Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Pediococcus, and Leuconostoc.

Key Features

• Superior performance compared to the tomato juice medium of Briggs¹ and the meat extract tomato juice medium of de Man

• Ready-to-use convenience of prepared media

The MRS formulation by de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe¹ was designed to replace a variable ingredient (tomato juice) and to provide a medium that supports robust growth of lactobacilli in general. It offers improved growth for all lactobacilli strains, particularly the more difficult and slow-growing Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus fermenti strains.

Characteristics of Lactic Acid Bacteria
Lactic acid bacteria are Gram-positive, catalase- and oxidase-negative organisms that are nutritionally fastidious. Their growth is greatly enhanced under microaerobic conditions. Generally, lactic acid bacteria exhibit delayed growth and form smaller colonies compared to other microorganisms. On non-selective media, they may be overgrown by other microbes, especially during prolonged incubation of 2–4 days.