It is a non-selective fungal culture medium that permits the growth of virtually all clinically relevant fungi. It is used for the primary recovery of saprophytic and dimorphic fungi.
The medium contains proteose peptone and infusions from calf brain and beef heart which serve as sources of carbon, nitrogen, essential growth factors, amino acids and vitamins. Dextrose is used as a source of energy. Disodium phosphate helps in maintaining the buffering action of the medium whereas sodium chloride maintains the osmotic equilibrium of the medium.
BHI with 10% defibrinated sheep blood is useful for isolation and cultivation of Histoplasma capsulatum and other fungi.
One can culture food, blood and water samples at 35–37°C for 24–48 hours for the isolation of Candida albicans. Some fungi might require more incubation time.
After the incubation period, examine tubes for turbidity which is an indication of growth. If desired, a loopful of the culture broth can then be sub-cultured onto an appropriate solid medium to observe colony morphology.
It is recommended that biochemical, immunological, molecular, or mass spectrometry testing be performed on colonies from pure culture for complete identification.
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