Evaluation of Chromocult coliform agar for the detection and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae from faecal samples from healthy subjects

• Published in: Journal of microbiological methods Vol. 54; no. 3; pp. 353 - 358
• Main Authors: Finney, M., Smullen, J., Foster, H.A., Brokx, S., Storey, D.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 01.09.2003; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Agar; Bacteriological methods and techniques used in bacteriology; Bacteriological Techniques - methods; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Chromocult; Chromogenic Compounds; Coliforms; Colony Count, Microbial; Enterobacteriaceae; Enumeration; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - isolation & purification; Escherichia coli Infections - microbiology; Faecal flora; False Negative Reactions; False Positive Reactions; Feces - microbiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Microbiology; Enumeration; Chromocult; Coliforms; Faecal flora; Escherichia coli; Enterobacteriaceae; Culture medium; Evaluation; Bacteria; Detection
• ISSN: 0167-7012; 1872-8359
• DOI: 10.1016/S0167-7012(03)00068-X

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of Chromocult agar medium for isolation and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae from human faecal samples, to compare it to MacConkey agar and to evaluate its usefulness as a possible alternative selective medium in human faecal studies. The medium was shown to be effective in identifying Escherichia coli and coliforms in faeces without the need for extensive accompanying biochemical tests for confirmation of identity. A positive correlation ( r=0.86) was found between the recovery of Enterobacteriaceae on the two media, and no significant difference ( P>0.05) between overall mean bacterial counts for the whole study group or at different intervals of faecal collection were observed. Chromocult agar is an effective replacement for MacConkey agar in human faecal studies and has the advantage of differentiating E. coli from other coliforms.