Performance of Different Solid and Liquid Culture Media for the Improvement of Tuberculin Production

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most important zoonotic bacterial diseases. A huge economic loss which could be direct or indirect are associated with the disease. Currently, the primary methods used for detection of TB in humans and cattle include the measurement of a delayed type hypersensitivity to purified protein derivative (PPD). So, the need for preparation of purified PPD with adequate properties and increasing the final PPD yield with decreasing the time of tuberculin production has stimulated the interest in the development of its preparation. Our study was performed to compare between the standard and modified media for improving tuberculin production. Middle brook 7H10 agar medium was used as a modified basic medium for mycobacterial growth, followed by cultivation of mycobacteria on Middle brook 7H9 broth medium. For the production, strains were inoculated onto the culture medium (Dorest Henly synthetic medium). Other steps for tuberculin production was done according to standard Weighbridge protocol. The results demonstrated that the using of both Middle brook 7H10 agar and Middle brook 7H9 broth instead of Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) and glycerin broth media which used in currently produced tuberculin, have better physical and chemical properties. In addition, reducing the time required for production by accelerating the time of microbial growth. Also, it was found that the tuberculin produced using modified media was slightly more potent or the same as currently tuberculin produced. So, both Middle brook 7H10 agar and Middle brook 7H9 broth media are recommended for production of tuberculin saving time and increasing potency of the product but more investigation was recommended for estimation types of protein present in both locally prepared and modified tuberculin.