Mycobiotic Agar is used for the selective isolation of fungi in a laboratory setting. Mycobiotic Agar is not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions in humans.
The value of selective media for initial cultivation of pathogenic fungi has been demonstrated by numerous investigators. Historically, media for fungi generally relied on an acid pH to make the media less suitable for growth of many bacteria. Recently developed media use neutral or slightly alkaline reactions, antibiotics, bile salts, and dyes as selective agents against bacteria. Mycobiotic Agar is an excellent basal medium and antifungal agents, cycloheximide and chloramphenicol, are added to study their affect on fungi. This medium is proven useful in the isolation of dermatophytes and other fungi from samples.
George recommends the use of Mycobiotic Agar exclusively for isolating dermatophytes (dermatophytes are not sensitive to cycloheximide or chloramphenicol) and in parallel to media without antibiotics for isolating fungi which cause systemic disease.
