Pharmaceutical Preparation using Undi Oil for Mastitis Prophylaxis Bernd Brinkmann, WALTER RAU AG, Neuss, Germany, Dr.-Ing. Dieter Elsser-Gravesen, ISI FOOD PROTECTION ApS, Aarhus, Denmark 
 
Mastitis puerperalis, which is an inflammation of the mammary glands mainly caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae and Streptococcus dysgalactiae, is the most common reason for using antibiotics in dairy cows. The economic damage caused by this disease runs into hundreds of million € in Europe alone. 
Especially Staphylococcus aureus has become the most dominant source of inflammation because of its resistance to a wide range of common antibiotics. Science is focusing on reducing antibiotic usage in the food chain because of the detrimental effect on human health. The increase of infections in humans caused by MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is thought to be closely related to the almost ubiquitous presence of antibiotic residues in food. 
The authors have evaluated vegetable oils, namely Linseed oil (Linum usitatissimum) and Undi oil (Callophyllum inophyllum) from different sources, for their antimicrobial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus strains. To this aim, the inhibitory potential of these oils was determined in vitro as well as in situ (surface model test and pig skin tests). Interestingly, growth of all tested clinical isolates of coagulase-positive S. aureus strains was completely suppressed in the surface model studies by Undi oil from a specific origin in India but not or only slightly but the other oils. 
Another very positive finding is that various species of Lactobacillus were not affected at all, which opens further fields of applications where protection of the natural skin flora is needed. 
For the formulation of pharmaceutical preparations it is proposed to use Cremerlin®, a unique sustainable vegetable oil/ fat blend as base material, which is an excellent substitute for the mineral oil-based petrolatum as described in EP 2011483 B1. The additional benefit lies in the reduction of mineral oil cross-contamination in the food chain. Such a combination could prove useful as a milking grease that prevents mastitis without antibiotics or mineral oil-based substances. The findings are very promising and open numerous opportunities for further applications.