LB broth-lyophilized Rabbit serum (LLR) as a new and suitable culture medium for cultivation of promastigotes of Leishmania major.

Fetal calf serum is the major part and the most expensive ingredient of the Leishmania culture media. Here, the efficacy of the LB broth-lyophilized Rabbit serum medium (LLR) was evaluated in cultivation of Leishmaniamajor. Conventional Luria-Bertani (LB) broth medium was prepared and autoclaved for 15 min at 121 °C and then lyophilized Rabbit serum was added at the 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 % final concentrations. The efficacy of medium was evaluated by assessing the growth ability and replication pattern of the promastigotes of L. major. According to our finding, the LLR medium with 5-10 % lyophilized Rabbit serum supported the growth of the parasites and can be used for cultivation of Leishmanian parasites with acceptable In vivo infectivity for research purpose. The ability of the parasites to survive and proliferating in the presence of lyophilized Rabbit serum indicating that this serum is a good nutritional source. This study opens a new way to make low-cost medium that could be used in cultivation of Leishmanian parasites.