APPLICATION OF ETHNOVETERINARY PRACTICES & VETERINARY HOMEOPATHY , ARYUVEDA IN TREATMENT OF MASTITIS IN DAIRY CATTLE
Dr Jitendra Kumar
Ph.D Scholar
Department of Veterinary Gynaecology & Obstetrics Jabalpur
College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry Jabalpur,
NDVSU Jabalpur M.P-482001
Abstract:
The veterinary and animal husbandry practices were present and grown in the Vedic, Puranic and extending beyond Epic periods. This knowledge is available in the form of manuscripts called Veterinary Ayurveda, viz Mrugayurveda (Ayurveda for Animals) Pashupakshishastra (Ayurveda for birds), Hasthyayurveda elephants), Ashwayurveda (Ayurveda for horses) etc. Understanding the etiopathogenesis and management of animal diseases through Ayurveda is need of the day. Many herbs and formulation from Ethno knowledge and Ayurveda were in practice in ancient India. So it is important to validate and reintroduce these time tested formulations and herbs for animal health. Bovine mastitis is globally recognized as the most common and costly disease affecting dairy herds. The disease causes huge financial losses to dairy industries by reduced yield and milk quality, deaths and culling of affected cows and also by associated treatment costs. The disease occurs due to invasion of the mammary glands by pathogenic bacteria followed by their multiplication in the milk producing tissue. Medicinal plants with their well-established history are an excellent natural product resource used as an alternative therapy. Antibacterial agents from plants can act as important sources of novel antibiotics, efflux pump inhibitors, compounds that target bacterial virulence or can be used in combination with existing drugs. The plants form an essential component of ethno-veterinary medicine used in the treatment of different diseases like bovine mastitis.
Keywords: Ethnoveterinary, mastitis, herbal preparation, homeopathy
Introduction:
Mastitis is a multi-etiological and complex disease, which is defined as inflamma-tion of parenchyma of mammary glands. It is characterized by physical, chemical and, usually, bacteriological changes in milk, and pathological changes in glandular tissues (Radostis et al., 2000). The occurrence of disease is an outcome of interplay between three major factors: infectious agents, host resistance, and environmental factors (Gera and Guha, 2011).Mastitis is a global problem as it adversely affects animal health, quality of milk and the economics of milk production, affecting every country, including developed ones and causes huge financial losses (Sharma, Maiti and Sharma, 2007). There is agreement among authors that mastitis is the most widespread infectious disease in dairy cattle, and, from an economic aspect, the most damaging (Tiwari et al., 2010; Sharma et al., 2012; Elango et al., 2010; Halasa et al., 2007; Mostert et al., 2004).
Clinical and sub-clinical mastitis are the two major forms of the disease:
- Clinical mastitis results in alterations of milk composition and appearance, decreased milk production, and the presence of the cardinals signs of inflam-mation (pain, swelling and redness, with or without heat in infected mam-mary quarters). It is readily apparent and easily detected.
- In contrast, detection of mammary quarters with sub-clinical mastitis is more difficult because signs are not readily apparent (Kivaria, 2006) and, because of the lack of any overt manifestation, its diagnosis is a challenge in dairy animal management and in veterinary practice.
Risk Factors: Hosts, Management Practices, Environment:
Mastitis is a difficult problem to comprehend because, as noted earlier, it is a disease caused by many factors, both in large and in small-scale herds. Micro-organisms are responsible for the infection, but for them to enter the mammary gland and establish themselves to the point that they cause an infection, a multitude of factors may be involved. There are many factors acting simultaneously, and the disease generally involves interplay between management practice and infectious agents, but with other factors, such as genetics, udder shape or climate. (Awale et al., 2012; Sori, Zerinhum and Abdicho, 2005).
Occurrence of mastitis is generally higher in high yielding bovines. Holstein Friesian (HF), Jersey or HF and Jersey crossbred dairy cows are generally more susceptible to mastitis than indigenous breeds. Seasonality in the incidence of mastitis has been studied. The occurrence of mas-titis varies from season to season, because growth and multiplication of organisms depends on specific temperature and humidity. Incorrect ventilation, with high temperature and relative humidity, encourages the multiplication of various bacteria. Exposure of animals to high temperature can increase the stress of the animal and alter immune functions (Sudhan and Sharma, 2010). Joshi and Gokale reported that, in India, animals were more prone to SCM in the monsoon season compared with summer or winter (Joshi and Gokale, 2006). This matches the findings of Patil and co-workers (2005) related to buffaloes in Karnataka State, India. Similarly, in Ethiopia, it was noticed by Dego and Tareke (2003) that the prevalence was higher in the rainy season than in the dry season
Major Causative Agents: Contagious and Environmental Pathogens
Mastitis is caused by several species of common bacteria, fungi, mycoplasmas and algae (Batavani, Asri and Naebzadeh, 2007). Most mastitis is of bacterial origin, with just a few of species of bacteria accounting for most cases. Mastitis pathogens are categorized as contagious or environmental (Kivaria, 2006). Contagious patho-gens live and multiply on and in the cow’s mammary gland and are spread from cow to cow, primarily during milking.
Contagious pathogens include: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Mycoplasma spp. and Corynebacterium bovis (Radostis et al., 2000). Environmental mastitis can be defined broadly as those intra-mammary infec-tions (IMI) caused by pathogens whose primary reservoir is the environment in which the cow lives (Smith, Todhunter and Schoenberger, 1985). The most fre-quently isolated environmental pathogens are Streptococci, other than S. agalac-tiae, commonly referred to as environmental streptococci (usually S. uberis and S. disgalactiae) and gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp. and Enterobacter spp. (Hogan et al., 1999).
Mycotic infections are another important cause of mastitis. In an unpublished study, mentioned in a paper from Kivaria and Noordhuizen (2007), it was estab-lished that 90% of small-scale dairy farmers in Tanzania were unaware of the causal factors of mastitis and so did not know how to prevent the disease. Many available studies in developing countries had the aim of conducting microbiological inves-tigations to understand each pathogens role in causing mastitis in different areas.
It is important to remember that contagious mastitis prevalence is considerably influenced by the milking procedures followed by milkers. Thus correct milking procedures such as milking mastitic cows last, and proper sanitation of utensils, milker’s hands and udder before milking could help to improve the situation. The frequency of isolation of coliforms (E. coli, Enterococcus faecalis, etc.) and other micro-organisms causing environmental mastitis is usually directly influenced by unhygienic housing conditions (Mekonnen and Tesafaye, 2010).
Treatment with homeopathic drug:
As in humans even for the cows the totality has to be obtained and the individual remedy has to be administered accordingly. Here the symptoms are obtained by the objective symptoms, observation of the behaviour and also the animal’s reaction to the disease. And the medicines are administered through tongue, in drinking water or through injection rarely.
The most commonly indicated medicines are as follows:
Belladonna:
- In acute form of mastitis
- Swelling, redness, hardness and tenderness
- Bounding pulse with rise of temperature
- Mastitis after postpartum
- Aggravated by touch, motion and pressure
Apis mellifica:
- Erysipelatous inflammation of the mammary gland
- Swelling and hardness of the mammae threatening to ulcerate
- Parts are swollen, puffed up; becomes oedematous and of shiny, red rosy colour
- Decreased thirst
- Aggravated by heat, touch, pressure and relieved by cold application
Conium maculatum:
- lands especially mammary gland is affected with engorgement and stony induration
- Ill effects of contusion and blows
- Chronic form of mastitis
- Inflammation of the mammary gland
- Scirrhus of the mammary gland after contusion
Bryonia alba:
- Mammary gland swelling hard and indurated
- In acute forms pain will be relieved by pressure on the udder where the animal lies down frequently
- Mammary gland hot, painful and hard
- Stony hard mammae
- Milk fever
- Aggaravated by motion relieved by pressure and lying down
Arnica montanna:
- Mastitis as a result of injury to the udder tissue
- Bloody secretion
- Aggaravated touch and motion. Relieved by lying down
Phytolacca:
- A useful remedy for both acute and chronic forms
- Heavy, stony hard, swollen and tender mammae
- Bluish red glands
- Discharge of pus which is watery, foetid and ichorous
- In acute form curdled milk and clots. In chronic form small clots may appear
Silicea:
- Chronic cases of corynebacteri pyrogens infection where multiple abscesses are formed
- Bloody discharge from mammary gland aggravated by nursing
- Hard lumps, fistula in mammae
- Threatened abscesses of mammae
- Suppurative processes, stubborn, fistulous openings
- Aggravted by cold and dampness
Urtica urens:
- Acute forms of mastitis showing oedema which may be in the form of plaques frequently extending to the perineal area
- Great swelling of mammae with serous discharge and followed by copious milk production
- Dimnished secretion of milk after parturition
Ayurvedic Treatment of Mastitis:
In Ayurveda, mastitis is also known as Sthanavidhradi, a disease of pitta origin, the drugs used in this formulation (Aloe vera, Curcuma longa and Calcium hydroxide) means three ingredients viz. Gheekumari (Aloe vera) 2 or 3 petal, Haldi (Turmeric) powder (50gm) and Chunna (Lime stone)- 10 gm is potent pitta shamaka (Pacifies Pitta humour). The formulation possesses Krimighna (antimicrobial), Vranashodaka (wound cleanser), Vranaropaka (wound healing), Shothahara (anti-inflammatory) and Srotoshodaka (channel cleanser) properties. Hence, mastitis can be efficiently managed with this formulation by application of such paste at least for 7-10 days. Sometimes oral administration of 50 gm of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) with two lemon juice dissolved in 200 ml of water is also effective in treating the mastitis during early stage.
Herbal Preparations:
Medicines that are extracted from the herbs are used as intramammary infusion in the dry animals. They are “natural” and usually safe and have clinical and economical value in treating resistant bacteria (Buhner, 2014). The herbal treatment tested for dairy cows in the dry period is found to be an alternative to antibiotics (Mullen et al., 2013). Baskaran et al. (2009) demonstrated that plant derived antimicrobials have shown promise in vitro as treatments for mastitis; trans-cinnamaldehyde (from cinnamon bark), thymol (from oregano oil) and eugenol (from clove oil) were shown to be effective in milk cultures versus several major mastitis pathogens. Cinnamon and clove oils have shown antibacterial and antifungal activity for bovine mastitis (Choi et al., 2012).
Neem oil is effective against udder infections. The bark, seeds, leaves and roots of neem are used as an insect repellant. Livestock insects such as horn flies, flow flies and biting flies are controlled traditionally using neem (Ogbueniu et al., 2011). Neem oil are effective against E. coli and mastitis (Ogbueniu, 2008). Neem (Azadiracta indica) can be used as anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drug and can be an alternate therapy against bovine mastitis. Gram positive bacteria especially Staphylococcus aureus is sensitive to essential oil derived from turmeric (Gupta et al., 2015). Nigella sativa extract has potential as a therapeutic agent for Staphylococcus aureus infection causing sub clinical mastitis of dairy cows and may contribute to the cow’s recovery from mastitis (Azadi et al., 2011). It has been reported that milk somatic cell count of the quarters infected with Staphylococus aureus decreased after injection of Nigella sativa extract in Holstein cows (Azadi and Farzaneh, 2010). Herbal preparation had a positive effect on the time to recovery from mastitis and increased the rate of bactereological cure together with improving the reduction of somatic cell count in dairy cows Pinedo et al. (2013). Mullen et al. (2014) reported that the herbal treatment tested did not negatively affect milk production or somatic cell count and were just as successful as conventional dry cow therapy in curing infections during the dry period. Cows treated with the herbal preparation at dry off had fewer new infections (35%) than no treatment (49%). Thyme oil, an ingredient of the herbal treatment, has significant antibacterial activity when cultured in milk.
Conclusion:
Subclinical mastitis in dairy cows can be controlled during the dry period by proper management. It can be best achieved by the use of herbal preparations on the animals through intramammary route and external application. Therefore, it can be considered as an alternative approach and consider as a farmers friendly management practices for controlling subclinical mastitis in dairy cows.
Reference:
Azadi, H.G. and Farzaneh, N. (2010). Comparison of two regimens of Nigella sativa extracts for treatment of subclinical mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 7(9), 1210-1214.
Azadi, H.G., Farzaneh, N., Baghestani, Z., Mohamadi, A. and Shahri, A.M. (2011). Effect of intramammary injection of Nigella sativa on somatic cell count and Staphylococcus aureus count in Holstein Cows with aureus subclinical mastitis. American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 6(1), 31-34.
Baskaran, S.A., Kazmer, G.W., Hinckley, L., Andrew, S.M. and Venkitanarayanan, K. (2009). Antibacterial effects of plant derived antimicrobials on major bacterial mastitis pathogens in vitro. Journal of Dairy Science, 92(4), 1423-1429. DOI.org/10.3168/jds.2008-138
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https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Terrell%20Thesis.pdf
