I was wondering if LB broth would be harmful if ingested. The ingredients don't seem particularly toxic, but many safety sheet warn against drinking it. If anyone could help me with my query I would be very thankful.
I think if the safety sheets warns against ingestion or drinking, it means preclinical studies must have shown some adverse effect on consumption.
If the label says it is harmful.. It should not be ingested. It may cause some irritation to the gut flora, vomitting or indigestion.
Olatunde Akanbi
It is highly unlikely that anyone would waste money on studies to determine the safety of ingestion for LB or any microbiological medium. That is silly.
It's composed of NaCl, Tryptone and Yeast extract. Of course it's not toxic - but why would anyone consumer the stuff?
Phil Geis because it smells delicious. if it smells so good ... is it tasty ?
I think it's OK not to take too much, but there is a little too much sodium chloride, which is estimated to be very salty
The question is why would anyone want to drink a broth that is made for bacteria?, anyway, yes the LB broth is harmful if swallowed, and it can cause skin and eye irritation.
Nawel Zaatout but why would it be harmful for the skin. It's basically salt proteins and some nutrients. It smells so good and my curiosity is peeking!
Phil Geis i got that from the Sigma safety data sheet, here's the document.
Nawel Zaatout that's the SDS for the powder. Any finely powdered substance has those safety concerns if inhaled. The standard LB broth (tryptone/casein, yeast extract and NaCl) shouldn't be different to a very concentrated soup or stock used for cooking. And many of the oldest classic culture media, esp. the undefined non-selective ones are more or less the same as they would be made out of readily available produce.
Obviously, those sold nowadays haven't cleared food safety regulations so I wouldn't recommend their consumption.
So as long its made in the lab and not bought pre-made... it's basically safe
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