This monograph has been assessed by members of the IUMS–ICFMH Working Party on Culture Media and given ‘Approved’ status.

The medium was introduced by Taylor (1965) for the isolation of salmonellae and shigellae (Taylor and Schelhart, 1971). It relies on the use of the selective inhibitory component sodium deoxycholate and three indicator systems, i.e. xylose, lactose and sucrose combined with phenol red; lysine hydrochloride and also phenol red; sodium thiosulfate and iron. Thus the growth of many unwanted organisms is suppressed, while sought bacteria can be tentatively grouped by reading the net effect of carbohydrate dissimilation and lysine decarboxylation and the formation of hydrogen sulfide from thiosulfate, leading to black colonies.