title: Milk of cow (Bos taurus), buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), and goat (Capra hircus): a better alternative than fetal bovine serum in media for primary isolation, in vitro cultivation, and maintenance of Leishmania donovani promastigotes.
abstract: Tyndalized milk of goat, cow, and buffalo was found to be a potential substitute for fetal bovine serum (FBS) in the medium for the cultivation of Leishmania donovani promastigotes. The numbers (means) of promastigotes reached 2.6 x 10(7), 2.3 x 10(7), and 2.1 x 10(7)/ml, respectively, in the medium supplemented with 10% milk of goat, cow, and buffalo, in comparison to 1.9 x 10(7)/ml in the control with 10% FBS. In primary isolation, the milk-supplemented medium showed that 22 out of 26 samples were positive for promastigotes (84.6%) and the cells were maintained successfully during the observed period of 6 months.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Medical Entomology, Indian Council of Medical Research, No. 4, Sarojini Street, Chinna Chokkikulam, Madurai 625002, India. mmuniaraj@yahoo.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muniaraj
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lal
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002020:Buffaloes; D002417:Cattle; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D046508:Culture Techniques; D006041:Goats; D006801:Humans; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000469:parasitology; D008892:Milk; D010274:Parasitology / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D044967:Serum
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media