Description

Mannitol salt agar (MSA) is a selective, differential, and indicator medium used to isolate and identify Staphylococcus aureus from the clinical specimen. As its name suggests, mannitol salt agar (MSA) contains 1% mannitol (sugar), 7.5% salt, and agar as a solidifying agent. Members of the genus Staphylococcus can tolerate high salt concentration (7.5%) and grow on mannitol salt agar.