Pyruvate is considered as the conjugate base of pyruvic acid, which is used as a key in intermediating the biological processes.

Pyruvate is generally producing as the end product of the process of glycolysis which acts as a connective link between various biochemical processes including gluconeogenesis, fermentation, cellular respiration, fatty acid synthesis etc.

However, by accompanying these processes, pyruvate plays a key role in providing energy to the living cells through Krebs cycle, which is one of the metabolic pathways in all living cells.

In Krebs cycle, Pyruvate is decarboxylated into acetyl coA which is then converted into acetyl CoA.

Pyruvate broth is usually used to determine the ability of the microorganism to utilize the pyruvate.

The presence of this test substrate pyruvate helps us to differentiate the characteristics of an organism which metabolize the pyruvate and other which does not have the capability to metabolize.

This characteristic is useful in differentiating the organisms such as Enterococcus faecalis from Enterococcus faecium.

Here pyruvate broth is made up of pancreatic digest that includes casein and the yeast extracts which provides the bacteria healthy supplements like amino acids, vitamins and other necessary growth factors, generally phosphate is added here in the broth to maintain the stable pH needed for the culture medium.

Due to the pyruvate breakdown it results in the change in pH to the acidic form in the culture.

Pyruvate is one of the active substrates where, the organisms can utilize it and breakdown the substrate thus generating the host of metabolic acids, and it is detected by the pH indicator known as Bromothymol blue.

At the time of acid generation, the culture medium changes its color from a blue green to yellow.