[Recovery of Veillonella from saliva]

Veillonella spp. are anaerobic gram-negative cocci associated to oral health. Different types of cultures have been reported for the isolation of these microorganisms. Veillonella spp. colonies produce a red fluorescence, which is made visible through ultraviolet light and disappears in contact with oxygen. This feature would be very useful for rapid presumptive identification. The aims of this study were: 1. to compare the Rogosa selective medium for Veillonella with the cultures recommended by different authors in order to determine best saliva recovery, since this sample is generally used to determine the presence and predominance of this bacteria; 2. to detect red fluorescence production on these different culture media as a rapid method for identification. Selective medium for Veillonella, Schaedler agar for anaerobic bacteria with vitamin K, thioglycollate agar, brain heart infusion agar, Brucella agar, trypticase soy agar, and Columbia agar, all of them with and without the addition of vancomycin, and laked blood were used for this study. The tested sample was a saliva pool. Both, Veillonella colonies, and the total number of microorganisms were counted, and expressed as CFU/ml of saliva. The greatest Veillonella recovery in saliva was obtained with the selective medium for Veillonella with vancomycin and laked blood. The production of fluorescence was only observed in this medium.