BBE Agar (Bacteroides Bile Esculin Agar) is a selective and differential medium designed for the isolation and presumptive identification of Bacteroides species, particularly the clinically significant B. fragilis group, from clinical specimens such as feces, wound swabs, and aspirates from anaerobic infections. The medium contains bile salts to inhibit gram-positive bacteria and many facultative anaerobes, allowing selective growth of Bacteroides. Esculin serves as a differential agent; Bacteroides hydrolyze esculin, producing a black precipitate around colonies due to the reaction with ferric ammonium citrate. This medium is essential in anaerobic microbiology for diagnosing infections like intra-abdominal abscesses, peritonitis, and bacteremia caused by Bacteroides.