ABSTRACT
In order to develop culture media which can support the cell growth of such insects, information on the nutritional requirements of the cells will give a clue. Variations in inorganic salt concentrations result in the variation of osmotic pressure of the media. Most insect cell lines seem to be able to multiply by using glucose as the sole source of sugars. There is some information on the consumption of lipids by insect cells cultured in vitro. Some amino acids can be synthesized by insect cells. Besides amino acids, some organic acids have been incorporated into many media. Essentiality of amino acids should be determined by the culturing cells in protein- or peptide-free medium. For the determination of essentiality of vitamins, the use of chemically defined media is prerequisite. The effects of hormones of either insects or vertebrates have been studied by using serum- containing media. Hemolymph was used frequently as a major component of culture media.
