Principle of MHA
Mueller Hinton Media contains Beef Extract, Acid Hydrolysate of Casein, Starch and Agar. Beef Extract and Acid Hydrolysate of Casein provide nitrogen, vitamins, carbon, amino acids, sulphur and other essential nutrients. Starch is added to absorb any toxic metabolites produced. Starch hydrolysis yields dextrose, which serves as a source of energy. Agar is the solidifying agent.
The use of a suitable medium for testing the susceptibility of microorganisms to sulfonamides and trimethoprim is essential. Antagonism to sulfonamide activity is demonstrated by para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and its analogs. Reduced activity of trimethoprim, resulting in smaller inhibition zones and innerzonal colonies, is demonstrated on unsuitable Mueller Hinton medium possessing high levels of thymidine. Both the PABA and thymine/thymidine content in Mueller Hinton Agar are reduced to a minimum, thus markedly reducing the inactivation of sulfonamides and trimethoprim when the media is used for testing the susceptibility of bacterial isolates to these antimicrobics.