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.
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.
Muniaraj
M
M
Centre for Research in Medical Entomology, Indian Council of Medical Research, No. 4, Sarojini Street, Chinna Chokkikulam, Madurai 625002, India. mmuniaraj@yahoo.com
Lal
C S
CS
Kumar
S
S
Sinha
P K
PK
Das
P
P
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
D003470:Culture Media