Soy peptone (SP) was studied as nutrient source in replacement of the conventional media as Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) and sheep blood in the first seed culture medium in Petri plates of Streptococcus zooepidemicus. This substitution, aimed at meeting the claim of the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, for the removal of animal sources of the culture media used in obtaining their products for safety reasons. The animal sources were used as a control. The effects of this substitution were studied in fermentations carried out at 37 degrees C and 150 rpm in 250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks containing 100 mL culture medium containing glucose and SP only. The replacement of animal nutrient sources by SP to about twice the BHI concentration did not alter the amount of the produced HA, or caused deviations in the metabolism of the microorganism in favor of HA to the detriment of cell growth. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.