Advantages and disadvantages of classical culturing techniques to identify and examine intestinal species
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Relatively inexpensive | Slow, time consuming, and labour intensive |
| Widely available | Samples require immediate processing |
| Allows quantification of bacterial populations | Extensive expertise and specialised equipment needed to isolate strict anaerobes |
| Can provide a good indication of ecosystem complexity, if carried out by skilled and experienced microbiologist! | Restricted to culturable organisms |
| Physiological studies are possible | Selection of growth media can greatly affect results. Not all viable bacteria can be recovered |
| Biochemical studies are possible | Once isolated, bacteria then require identification using a number of techniques |