Enzymatic Profiles of Prevotella, Porphyromonas, and Bacteroides Species Obtained with the API ZYM System and Rosco Diagnostic Tablets

The identification of anaerobic bacteria by conventional methods, including the inoculation of prereduced anaerobically sterilized (PRAS) biochemicals, is labor-intensive, prone to external contamination, and time-consuming. Although it is the "gold standard" among identification methods, the discriminatory power of PRAS biochemicals does not always allow differentiation of species, especially among the asaccharolytic or weakly saccharolytic species of anaerobic gram-negative rods. Therefore, it is important to devise identification procedures and test sets that in certain cases can provide data that supplement the inadequate reactions obtained by conventional identification methods.