Sheep blood-LB agar base medium (SLM) as a simple and suitable medium for the cultivation of Leishmania major promastigotes.

Several methods of cultivation of Leishmania parasites are available, and among them, biphasic media like Nicolle-Novy-MacNeal medium are considered to be superior for the initial isolation of the parasites and their in vivo infectivity. In the present work, the efficacy of sheep blood-LB agar base medium (SLM) was evaluated for the cultivation of Leishmania major promastigotes. The SLM supports the proliferation of the parasites and can be used for routine isolation and cultivation of Leishmania parasites with acceptable in vivo infectivity for research purposes.