Sabouraud agar or Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) is a type of

agar Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from " ogonori" and " tengusa". As found in nature, agar is a mixture of two components, t ...

growth medium containing

peptone Peptides are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. A polypeptide is a longer, continuous, unbranched peptide chain. Polypeptides that have a molecular mass of 10,000 Da or more are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty ami ...

s. It is used to cultivate

dermatophytes Dermatophyte (from Greek '' derma'' "skin" ( GEN ''dermatos'') and ''phyton'' "plant") is a common label for a group of fungus of '' Arthrodermataceae'' that commonly causes skin disease in animals and humans. Traditionally, these anamorphic ( ...

and other types of

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

, and can also grow filamentous bacteria such as ''

Nocardia ''Nocardia'' is a genus of weakly staining Gram-positive, catalase, catalase-positive, rod-shaped bacteria. It forms partially acid-fast beaded branching filaments (appearing similar to fungi, but being truly bacteria). It contains a total of 8 ...

''. It has utility for research and clinical care. It was created by, and is named after,

Raymond Sabouraud Raymond Jacques Adrien Sabouraud (; 24 November 1864 – 4 February 1938) was a French physician born in Nantes. He specialized in dermatology and mycology, and was also an accomplished painter and sculptor. He studied medicine in Nantes and ...

in 1892. In 1977 the formulation was adjusted by Chester W. Emmons when the pH level was brought closer to the neutral range and the dextrose concentration lowered to support the growth of other microorganisms. The acidic pH (5.6) of traditional Sabouraud agar inhibits bacterial growth. Peptones are complex digests and can be a source of variability in Sabouraud agar.

Typical composition

Sabouraud agar is commercially available and typically contains: * 40 g/L

dextrose Glucose is a sugar with the molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water an ...

* 10 g/L

* 20 g/L

* pH 5.6

Medical use

Clinical laboratories can use this growth medium to diagnose and further speciate fungal infections, allowing medical professionals to provide appropriate treatment with

antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as ...

medications. ''

Histoplasma ''Histoplasma'' is a genus of fungi in the order Onygenales. Species are known human pathogens producing yeast-like states under pathogenic conditions. They are the causative agents of histoplasmosis in humans and epizootic lymphangitis in hors ...

'' and other fungal causes of atypical

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

can be grown on this medium. Sabouraud agar used in combination with additional media, such as Inhibitory Mold Agar (IMA), improves identification of fungal clinical isolates.

References

* Microbiological media {{Microbiology-stub