Substitute for peptone in bacteriological culture media, casein hydrolysate is formed by acid or enzymic digestion of milk, and contains amino acids, salts and growth factors. More regular in composition than peptones, casein hydrolysate is favoured in synthetic media where a high degree of reproducibility is required.
A product derived from the milk protein casein is prepared by undergoing a hydrolysis process, which breaks it down into its component amino acids. Amino acids serve as the fundamental building blocks of proteins.