Microbiology's Basic Ingredient: Protein Sources (Peptones)

Peptones and extracts are excellent natural sources of amino acids, peptides and proteins in growth media. They are most often obtained by enzymatic digestion or acid hydrolysis of natural products, such as animal tissues, milk, plants or microbial cultures. The number of available peptones and extract is enormous (see list), and can promote and sustain the growth of most organisms. However, because the resulting microbial culture takes up components from the growth media, we sought to develop peptones and extracts that were assured to be BSE- and GMO-free, two of today’s major safety-related concerns. Using plants as the natural source not only eliminates the potential risk of BSE, but also offer better growth promotion for some microorganisms.