SELECTIVE ENUMERATION OF BIFIDOBACTERIUM-BIFIDUM, ENTEROCOCCUS-FAECIUM, AND STREPTOMYCIN-RESISTANT LACTOBACILLUS-ACIDOPHILUS FROM A MIXED PROBIOTIC PRODUCT

Modified VF-Bouillon agar with 0.5 mg/ml lithium chloride, 20 mug/ml sodium lauryl sulfate, 5 mg/ml sodium propionate, and 10 mug/ml neomycin sulfate was used with a triple-layer diffusion technique to selectively enumerate Bifidobacteriwn bifidum. Modified Brigg's agar was used to enumerate Enterococcus faecium. Modified Brigg's agar with 1,200 mug/ml streptomycin sulfate was used in a double-layer diffusion technique to selectively enumerate a streptomycin-resistant strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus. Selective enumeration of the individual bacterial components was compared to the mixture with an average 99% recovery of each component.