Masvac

Carl There is no relation between whey protein and mastitis. Mastitis is only caused by a miro-organisim, normaly bacteria entering the udder through the teat end. I can think of no way that milk protine can combat mastitis of any kind. If you are looking for a non antibiotic matitis therapy try contacting http://www.cowmastitis.com/ they have some products. To make things clear reducing SCC is done by good milking hygine and management and not by treatment - prevention is always much better than trying to cure a problem. Ralph Ginsberg Milking Management Adviser Israel

Dear Carl, Our view is slight different from our pre-poster Mr. Ralph Ginsberg. What we found is Subclinical mastitis is seen up to 50% of cows. Most of the cases persist and depress milk production and lower milk quality. Subclinical mastitis causes a rise in the non-casein protein concentration of milk. This mainly caused by an increase in the concentration of serum albumin and immunoglobulin derived from blood. In most cases, the concentration of the major whey proteins beta –lactoglobulin and alpha lactalbumin decreases. This decrease can be attributed to both inflammatory damage of mammary secretory tissues and destruction of blood-milk permeability barriers. Now the question is there is all safe way to increase the immunity of udder, strengthen the keratin layer of teat which acts as first hand barrier. We have witnessed the unilateral antibiotic approach could lead to greater losses in term of permanent teat injury or milk loss from affected quarter apart from residues and problem of relapse due to latent antibiotic resistant bacteria. We would like to introduce us as herbal animal healthcare organization Ayurvet from India complete mastitis management solution. Our everlasting endeavour to manage mastitis includes many technical seminars on the subject, Creation and running mastitis management cells, large number of studies and published information on the subject etc. We would like to present our Solution MASTILEP and MASTRIP which are herbal mastitis gel and mastitis detection strip respectively. These products are being exported to European countries like hungary and our customers are more than satisfied. Our research for last 20 Years reveals and reiterates through our global published reports that mastilep is found extremely effective in management of Subclinical mastitis whether it be in reducing somatic cell counts, normalizing milk quantity and quality, preventing subclinical cases into clinical stages and the most important thing these all without any residues in milk and bacterial resitance development. I would like to share one of interesting finding where we had screened 105 apprantly healthy cows for subclinical mastitis and treated with herbal gel MASTILEP. Interestingly staphs were the chief etiological agents followed by streptococcus. We made three groups one for untreated control and other two were under application on this herbal gel for three and 5 days. Result revealed that milk samples for both treated group were became negative for diagnostic tests of Subclinical mastitis. 3 day treatment group yielded some organism in greatly reduced colony and 5 day treatment with Mastilep eliminated all types of mastitis pathogen (bacteria/fungi). Also there was no problem of relapse. Our observation and finding is once bacteria penetrate the teat end opening, it is the efficiency of the natural defense mechanisms which determines the resistance of the mammary gland to new intramammary infections. Constituent herbs of MASTILEP like cedrus, eucalyptus,glycerrhiza any many more are used in alternative medicines for their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-histaminic and immuno-modultory properties for ages and have been well documented. These ingredients are in synergy in MASTILEP and mediate natural immunity at the cellular level, help in strengthening the udder integrity and defense mechanism through the combined effect of recruitment of effectors cells to the mammary glands, enhances bacterial clearance by phagocyte cell population and regulation of acute inflammatory reactions.

Carl, Something you may also wish to consider is the immune status of the animals. Good hygiene and management will indeed go a long way to minimising the incidence of mastitis as was mentioned by the first poster. However, ensuring adequate immune status will also contribute to reducing disease incidence. Dietary provision of key minerals, such as zinc and selenium, is essential to allow the animal to cope with disease and/or stress challenges. Selenium is directly linked to immune function via IL-2, as well as being the key antioxidant in the bodys antioxidant arsenal. Im sure youre already aware of zincs role within the body and, as such, the importance of ensuring consistent and adequate dietary supply. Traditionally, these minerals have been supplied in the form of inorganic compounds, e.g. sodium selenite in the case of selenium. However, these forms have limited absorption within the mammalian tract as mammals have evolved to absorb organic forms found in plants (following up-take from the soil). Additionally, as inorganic mineral molecules are not the recognised form they have limited storage capacity within the body (though some minerals are not stored, irrespective of form) and do not allow the animal to build reserves for times of challenge. One method of ensuring adequate zinc and / or selenium status would be to supplement an organic form, for example an amino acid chelate of reputable quality. Since selenium cannot be chelated, a selenised yeast would be appropriate here. These forms have nearly three times the absorptive capacity and are stored in body tissues. One additional point would be that it is important to ensure that the manufacturer has stringent quality control procedures in place regarding contamination. This often makes the product more expensive but gives peace of mind with regards to potential heavy metal contamination etc. Hope that is useful to you! Thanks

Dear Dr Helen I am agree with the statement of Hellen that imuune system is most important thing in the control of mastitis particularly subclinical form. The immunity could be enhanced by the some minerals and vitamins like Selenium, copper, zinc, vitamin E, vitamin C etc. Most of these act as antioxidants. The antioxidants are simply free radicals e.g. superoxide, hydrogen peroxide etc. They are produced during the respiratory burst (oxygen dependant phagocytosis) and they they required (particularly hydrogen peroxide) for killing of infecting organisms during respiratory burst. However, body has the natural antioxidant defence system. But if the production of free radicals exceeds beyond the capacity of natural boday defence system to copeup. Then it will cause oxidative stress and decrease the immune system and ultimately increase the chances of intramammary infection. Free radicals damage the cell membrane (PUFA) of the defence cells like Neutrophils. Therefore, antioxidants neutralize the free radicals and enhance the immunity of animals. But the problem is that before going to supplementation of selenium or other element you have to estimate/determine the blood/plasma level of that particular element. If the animal is not deficient for that element and afterthat continue supplementation can cause severe toxicity. Therefore, I would like to suggest that before supplementation of any element you have to know the blood level i.e. dont go blind supplementation. Regarding mastilep (herbal product) is realy realy effective for prevention of subclinical mastitis because I have done the clinical trial of this product in Chhattisgarh State during 2003-04. I found satisfactory results in the control of subclinical mastitis in dairy cows. Over all mastitis is always a issue of discussion.

Zinc is one of the trace minerals that has the lowest toxicity to the animal BUT plays a significant role in the dairy cows system. It is part of at least 200 enzyme systems and research has proven it to be very effective in reducing SCC. First, it is known that zinc plays a role in maintaining the skin in all animals. Because of this, researchers suggest that zinc increases the production of keratin, the tissue that forms a “plug” in the teat end after each milking, thus blocking pathogens from entering the mammary gland. “The average Holstein loses 40 percent of the keratin in the teat canal at every milking, “after which, the tissue must regenerate.Other research has shown that zinc plays a role in the development of key immune cells known as neutrophils. When zinc is deficient in the body, immunity decreases. A deficiency of zinc causes a reduction in the number of “T” lymphocytes which make up part of the infection-fighting cells of the body. There is a much lower risk of toxicity with organic trace minerals. Blood and tissue levels are a good indicator of status but vary drastically during the production period of the dairy cow - therefore accuracy is a question. By supplementing a portion of the trace mineral requirements with organic minerals you ensure that the animal is able to perform to its potential. There are many factors which reduce normal absorption of trace minerals such as antagonists and stress factors. As long as supplementation is within a normal range you should not see problems (especially with some organic sources) but will however see positive results. Dairy Cows require the greatest amount of zinc prior to calving and through peak milk production and the mating period. A recent NZ Dairy Pasture Survey showed that during this time period, copper and zinc are often supplied by pasture in the lowest amounts, which further compounds the copper and zinc problem. This deficiency is a great opportunity to correct through the strategic supplementation of organic trace minerals. In a summary of 10 university dairy trials, cows supplemented with organic zinc evidenced a 33% reduction in SCC’s versus cows supplemented with inorganic zinc. Further research at Cornell University showed that after infection of the udder with bacteria, cows fed organic zinc had a reduced explosion of bacterial growth in the udder versus cows receiving inorganic zinc supplementation. A trial conducted through Massey University a couple of years ago also demonstrated that NZ pasture fed cows could benefit from zinc supplementation when fed prior to calving and through 5 months of lactation. These cows had about 40% fewer SCC’s and 3% increased milk solids production.

Dear All, In addition to what have been said above, I also believe that medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) may have a role in enhancing the immune system and reducing the incident of subclinical and clinical mastitis. Those are easy and cheap to get in the ration by adding some palm kernel oil or the likes, although you could also get them in a pure form from specialized additives companies. MCFA have been used successfully in the Netherlands to reduce SCC and new incidencies of mastitis.

Helen, I am not sure if you want somthing to treat high SCC or to simply lower SCC by prevention. We can prevent what is often treated and we can lower SCC as low as you want to go. We have large dairies milking 80 to 87 pounds a day as low as 50,000 scc going 2 to 3 months at a time with out pulling and mastitis cows.

I totally agree with Tucker opinion as I also use zinc supplementation alone and in combination with antibiotics in treatment of mastitis and found very satisfactory results