Use of chicken serum as a good replacement for the fetal calf serum in cultivation of promastigotes of Leishmania major

Genus Leishmania is a protozoan parasite that causes different severe diseases. Fetal Calf Serum (FCS) is the major part of the Leishmania culture media, for mass cultivation and the most expensive ingredient in these media. In the present work, the efficacy of chicken serum was evaluated in Leishmania culture media. The results indicated that, the (10%) chicken serum enriched culture medium supported the growth of large scale cultures of the parasites and can be used for primary and mass cultivation of Leishmania parasites. In conclusion, the chicken serum was effective, easy available and cheap replacement for FCS.