This is a Provisional monograph.

Glycine vancomycin polymyxin cycloheximide agar is a selective medium for the detection of Legionella species and was developed by Dennis et al. in 1984 from the glycine vancomycin polymyxin agar of Wadowsky and Yee (1981). They added α-ketoglutarate and cycloheximide to suppress the growth of yeasts and fungi. Vancomycin and polymyxin B sulfate inhibit Gram-positive bacteria whilst glycine is added to suppress Gram-negative bacteria. GVPC medium can be used for water samples with a high concentration of background flora.

Prepare and sterilise the basal medium, including the glycine, as for BCYE agar. Add to the cooled medium (50°C) fresh filter-sterilised solutions of L-cysteine (0.4 g/10 mL), iron(III) pyrophosphate (0.25 g/10 mL), polymyxin B sulfate (80.000 i.u./10 mL), vancomycin hydrochloride (0.001 g/10 mL) and cycloheximide (0.08 g/10 mL).