Oxoid™ Hektoen Enteric Agar

Isolate and differentiate Shigella and Salmonella spp. from enteric pathological specimens with Thermo Scientific™ Oxoid™ Hektoen Enteric Agar (Dehydrated). Hektoen Enteric Agar was developed by King and Metzger¹. When compared to other selective media this medium gives higher yield of Salmonella and Shigella, while inhibiting accompanying Gram-positive and other microorganisms^2,3.

Hektoen Enteric Agar is a differential and selective medium for the isolation of Shigella and Salmonella spp.

• Easy-to-read: shigellae form green moist raised colonies, while salmonellae form blue-green colonies, and other coliforms form salmon-pink to orange colonies surrounded by a zone of bile precipitation.
• Selective: bile salts, bromothymol blue and acid fuchsin in the medium make this medium selective against most Gram-positive organisms.
• Meets the requirements of APHA4.

The high peptone content of the medium offsets the inhibitory effect of bile salts on Shigella species while the additional carbohydrates (sucrose and salicin) give better differentiation and lower the toxicity of double indicator system resulting in better recovery. The increase in lactose content helps early recognition of slow lactose-fermenting organisms. The thiosulphate and ferric citrate are present to detect H₂S-producing organisms.

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Remel™ and Oxoid™ products are now part of the Thermo Scientific brand.