Fat (Triglyceride) Hydrolysis Test

We used the fat hydrolysis test to determine whether our bacteria are able to digest a triglyceride, which is a type of lipid.

First we obtained a tributyrin agar plate and we used the aseptic technique to inoculate the tributyrin agar plate with a loopful of bacteria from our agar slant culture.





















We then incubated the inoculated plate upside-down at 35 degrees Celsius for two days.

When we came back to lab two days later, we took out our plate from the incubator and examined the plate for a clear area around our bacteria growth (as indicated on the left). We did not see a clear area around our bacteria growth so this indicates that our bacteria are not able to digest a triglyceride.