Rappaport-Vassiliadis Soya Broth is used for the enrichment and selective isolation of Salmonella spp. This medium is a modification of the original formulation by Rappaport et al. and has been formulated to exploit the full characteristics of Salmonella spp. These characteristics include the ability to survive at relatively high osmotic pressure, to multiply at low pH values and greater resistance to malachite green.
This formulation also has the correct amount of magnesium chloride as previous formulations did not take into account the volume of displacement caused by dissolving large amounts of magnesium chloride in water. This formulation has been shown to be superior to tetrathionate broth and selenite broth for the isolation of Salmonella spp. from meat products.
Soya peptone provides the required carbon, nitrogen and vitamins. Potassium dihydrogen phosphate and di-potassium hydrogen phosphate act as buffers. Magnesium chloride raises the osmotic pressure in the medium. Malachite green is an inhibitory substance.
NB: This formulation is very hygroscopic and will produce a slight exothermic reaction when mixed with water.