Vancomycin as a selective agent for isolation of Bacteroides species

Thirty saccharolytic and asaccharolytic black-pigmented Bacteroides strains were tested for their susceptibility to vancomycin. All asaccharolytic strains appeared to be partly or completely inhibited at a concentration of 7.5 micrograms/ml, whereas most saccharolytic strains were resistant to this concentration. The use of vancomycin in Bacteroides selective media is discussed.