Journal of Medicinal Plants (Sep 2006)
Comprative Efficacy of Addermint (Mentha spicata), Phenylbutazone and Dam Cream in Cattle Acute Mastitis
Abstract
Background: Mastitis as a widely spread health problem does not only cause the largest economic disease-related losses in dairy farms, but also is responsible for the extended use of antibiotics in these enterprises. As this disease is considered multifactorial, development of new infection depends both on the presence of mastitis pathogens and a series of additional factors that act concomitantly. Therefore, for treatment and prevention of mastitis, determination of these factors is necessary. Antibiotic therapy is the common choice to control acute mastitis, but it is necessary to look for new options like immune modulators to better work out this problem and support the treatments. Objectives: The current study was to evaluate the use of softener cream with Mentha spicata (Addermint) therapy as a supportive treatment in management of acute mastitis in Holstein cattle. Methods: In a large dairy farm, 120 clinical cases (Class II acute Mastitis) were divided into three groups (A, B and C). All of the animals had received an antibacterial therapy including 50ml of oxytetracycline 5% IV and one tube of Tetranebalone intramamary infusion every 12 hours. Addermint, Phenylbutazone or Dam cream liniments were used on external skin of udders in A, B and C groups every 8 hours, respectively. Milk samples were taken from each cow prior to the treatment and were cultured on blood and MacConkey agar media. The genuses of isolated bacteria were determined microscopically and by results of biochemical reactions. Daily inspection of milk and udder were recorded. The withdrawal time of treated cows was 3 days and recurrent cases were recorded for the following 30 days. Results: The results of this study showed that, E. coli had the highest incidence in positive cultures (n=46) followed by Staphylococcus spp. (n=19) in 72.5% of positive cultures. No bacterium was isolated in 27.5% of cultures. Bacillus spp. (n=12), Streptococcus spp.(n=3), Klebsiella spp.(n=4) and Corynebacterium spp. (n=3) were isolated in 10% , 2.5 % , 3.5% and 2.5% of cultures, respectively. The recovery times were 26.7, 26.9 and 44.9 hrs. in A, B and C groups, respectively. The recurrence percentiles were 32.5%, 42.5% and 45% in A, B and C groups, respectively. Conclusion: Our results showed that softener cream (Addermint) usage is more effective than phenylbutazone and Dam cream in supporting the antibiotic treatment. It reduced the treatment period, withdrawal time and recurrence, dramatically.
