CHOCOLATE AGAR PLATE

Chocolate Agar Plate is an enriched culture medium developed for the recovery and cultivation of fastidious bacteria which require additional nutritional support for growth. It is made from heat-lysed blood which releases essential growth factors (hemin, Factor X and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, Factor V) required for the growth of organisms like Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis, and hence differs from regular blood agar. The heating process also destroys the enzymes that would otherwise degrade these growth factors, thus ensuring optimal recovery of bacteria.
It is a rich nutritional medium providing proteose peptone as a nitrogen source, dextrose as an energy source and balanced buffering components to maintain the ideal conditions for growth. The addition of cofactors further increases the recovery of challenging pathogens while the characteristic chocolate-brown color is caused by lysed blood cells. The medium is prepared and stored under controlled conditions to prevent oxidation and maintain the supply of vital nutrients. Chocolate Agar Plate is widely used in clinical microbiology laboratories and provides reliable results for the isolation of respiratory and pathogenic bacteria from mixed clinical samples, being an important medium for routine diagnostic and research purposes.

Designed for the isolation and cultivation of fastidious microorganisms, this enriched medium supports the reliable growth of organisms such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis. It delivers the essential growth factors required for accurate recovery from clinical specimens.