Growth of Helicobacter pylori in various liquid and plating media

The objectives of this research were to compare commonly used liquid and pl ating media to elucidate whether one medium provided superior growth of Hel icobacter pylori in vitro. The liquid media compared were Mueller-Hinton br oth, brain heart infusion broth and Ii. pylori special peptone broth, formu lated in this laboratory. No significant differences in growth rates were n oted and shaking during the incubation of broths was not essential for good growth. The plating media compared included Columbia agar, Mueller-Hinton agar, modified Glupczynski's Brussels campylobacter charcoal agar, Johnson- Murano agar and H. pylori special peptone agar (HPSPA). None of the non-spe cific plating media that have been used historically to culture H. pylori e xhibited any particular advantage. However, HPSPA provided an obvious advan tage in colony size. Helicobacter pylori special peptone agar enhances the cultivation of H. pylori and could improve the recovery of the bacterium fr om clinical samples in vitro.