Question Detail
Question
What makes chocolate agar an enriched medium?
Correct Answer
Option D is the correct answer.
Detailed Explanation
Chocolate agar is an enriched medium made by heating blood (typically sheep's blood) to lyse red blood cells, releasing factors like hemin (X factor) and NAD (V factor) into the agar, which are essential nutrients for fastidious bacteria like Haemophilus and Neisseria species. This heat treatment gives it a characteristic brown 'chocolate' color.
Hint
Think about the key ingredient in chocolate agar and how it's treated to release essential growth factors.