EMB Agar- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Results, Uses
Edited By: Sagar Aryal
- Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) agar is a differential microbiological medium, which slightly inhibits the growth of Gram-positive bacteria and provides a color indicator distinguishing between organisms that ferment lactose (e.g., E. coli) and those that do not (e.g., Salmonella, Shigella).
- EMB agar was originally devised by Holt-Harris and Teague and further modified by Levine.
- It is thus a combination of the Levine and Holt-Harris and Teague formulae which contains a peptic digest of animal tissue and phosphate as recommended by Levine and two carbohydrates as suggested by Holt-Harris and Teague.
- The medium is important in medical laboratories to distinguish gram-negative pathogenic microbes in a short period of time.