List of Common Microbiology Media

(from microbeonline.com)

1. Bile esculin agar (BEA):  It is used for the differential isolation and presumptive
identification of group D streptococci and enterococci.
2. Bile esculin azide agar with vancomycin: Selective and differential culture media
commonly used for the cultivation of vancomycin-resistant enterococci from clinical and
surveillance specimens.
3. Blood Agar:  Blood agar is used for the cultivation of fastidious microorganisms. It is a
differential medium that helps to classify/identify the bacteria on the basis of types
of hemolysis (alpha, beta or no hemolysis) present.
4. Bordet-Gengou agar: It is used for the isolation of  Bordetella pertussis, the causative
agent of pertussis or whooping cough.
5. Buffered Charcoal-yeast extract agar (BCYE): Enrichment culture media
for Legionella spp, the causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease, also known as
legionellosis.
6. Buffered Charcoal-yeast extract agar with antibiotics: This culture media is used for the
enrichment and selection for Legionella spp

7. Campy-blood agar(Campylobacter Blood Agar): Selective culture media

for Campylobacter spp. Campylobacter is a leading cause of bacterial foodborne
diarrheal disease worldwide
8. Campylobacter thioglycollate broth:  Selective holding medium for recovery
of Campylobacter spp.
9. Chocolate agar: Cultivation of Haemophilus spp and pathogenic Neisseria spp
10. Columbia colistin-nalidixic acid (CNA) agar: Columbia Agar with colistin and nalidixic
acid (CNA) is a selective medium for gram-positive organisms. The antimicrobials colistin
and nalidixic acid inhibit gram-negative organisms. CNA agar is used for the selective
isolation of Gram-positive cocci such as staphylococci and streptococci.
11. Cystine-tellurite blood agar: Used for the isolation of Corynebacterium diphtheriae. 
12. Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) Agar (Levine) : Isolation and differentiation of lactose
fermenting and non-lactose fermenting gram-negative enteric bacilli.
13. Gram-negative broth (GN): Selective (enrichment) liquid medium for enteric pathogens.
14. Hektoen enteric (HE) agar: Differential, selective culture medium used for the isolation
and differentiation of Salmonella and Shigella spp from other gram-negative enteric
bacilli.
15. MacConkey agar:  It is commonly used for the isolation and differentiation of lactose
fermenting and non-lactose fermenting gram-negative enteric bacilli
16. MacConkey Sorbitol Agar (It is a modification of MacConkey agar in which lactose has
been replaced with d-sorbitol as the primary carbohydrate): It is used for the selection
and differentiation of E.coli O17: H7 from a stool specimen
17. Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA): Primary purpose of MSA is the selective isolation of
Staphylococci and differentiation of Staphylococcus aureus from coagulase-negative
staphylococci (CONS)
18. New York City (NYC) Agar: It is a selective culture media for Neisseria gonorrhoeae
19. Phenylethyl alcohol (PEA) agar: Selective isolation of gram-positive and anaerobic
gram-negative bacilli
20. Salmonella-Shigella agar: Selective for the isolation of Salmonella and Shigella spp.
21. Selenite broth: Used for the enrichment and isolation of Salmonella spp
22. Tetrathionate broth: Selective for the isolation of Salmonella and Shigella spp.
23. Thayer-Martin Agar: Selective culture medium for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria
meningitides
24. Thioglycollate broth:  It supports the growth of anaerobes, aerobes, microaerophilic,
and fastidious microorganisms.
25. Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Salt (TCBS) Agar: It is a selective and differential culture medium
for the isolation of Vibrio e.g. Vibrio cholerae, the leading cause of cholera worldwide.
26. Trypticase Soy broth (TSB): It is an enrichment broth used for subculturing various
bacteria from primary agar plates.
27. Xylose Lysine Desoxycholate (XLD) agar: XLD agar is used for the isolation and
differentiation of Salmonella and Shigella spp from other gram-negative enteric bacilli