This medium supports the growth of urinary pathogens and gives good colonial differentiation of these bacteria. Lactose is the carbon source. Bromthymol blue is the indicator dye. bromthymol blue, Organisms that are lactose fermenting produce yellow colonies while non-lactose fermenting bacteria give blue colonies. Since there are no salts (electrolyte-deficient) in this media the swarming of Proteus sp. is suppressed. CLED Agar is recommended as a dip inoculum transport medium for urine specimens. A quantitative count method for urine cultures called the Drop Plate method was devised by Neblett.

Directions per Liter:

Mix 36.1 grams of the medium in one Liter of purified water until evenly dispersed. Heat with repeated stirring and boil for one minute to dissolve completely. Distribute and autoclave at 121.0°C for 15 minutes.

Storage and Stability:

Store powdered media at RT. Opened bottles should be capped tightly and kept in a dark, low humidity environment. Prepared media should be kept at 4°C and used within a short period of time.