Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) agar is a solid, nutrient-rich microbiological medium prepared from infusions of calf brain and beef heart tissues, combined with peptones, dextrose, sodium chloride, disodium phosphate, and agar. This formulation provides essential amino acids, peptides, carbohydrates, and growth factors that support the robust growth of fastidious and non-fastidious microbes.

Because of its enriched composition, BHI agar is commonly used for culturing streptococci, staphylococci, enterococci, Listeria species, and other clinically relevant bacteria, as well as yeast and molds. BHI agar plates can be used in non-selective formulations, with additional fermentable sugars such as sucrose, or with various types of antibiotics, serving as a foundational medium in clinical diagnostics, environmental monitoring of food and water, or academic and industrial microbiology research.

Our BHI agar plates are supplied as sterile, ready-to-use, pre-poured plates, eliminating preparation time and reducing batch-to-batch variability in microbiology workflows. We provide a wide variety of BHI agar in multiple formats and formulations to support diverse QC and clinical, pharmaceutical, environmental, food, and academic laboratory applications, including “deep fill” plates for long incubations or anaerobic growth.

We manufacture all of our agar plate products with strict quality control to ensure optimal performance, consistent formulation, and sterility. We stock an extensive selection of ready-to-use formulations and can also efficiently manufacture custom BHI agar products to meet your requirements, including tailored plate formats and formulations with specialized raw materials and antibiotic combinations.