Development of a prototype milk screening reagent for the detection of bovine subclinical mastitis using common detergents and Hibiscus sabdariffa petals

Abstract

Mastitis is an inflammatory condition of the mammary gland of female animals which can either be clinical or subclinical. Subclinical mastitis is that which cannot be diagnosed by physical assessment of the udder, however, it continues to reduce the quality and quantity of the milk leading to economic losses. Diagnosis and treatment of subclinical mastitis is therefore of paramount importance to the farmer, however, the commercially available California Mastitis Test (CMT) reagent commonly used to detect subclinical mastitis is expensive and not readily accessible especially in the rural agrarian communities. This work was conducted to develop a test reagent from locally and readily available materials that can be used by rural farmers in the detection of subclinical mastitis. Different concentrations (1.5%, 3% and 6%) of different household detergents dissolved in water extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa (zobo) have been explored for their suitability to detect somatic cells in cow milk. The reagents were mixed with mastitic and nonmstatitic milk while the test conducted with CMT served as control to which the results from formulated reagents were compared for sensitivity. It was found that a 3% detergent concentration in zobo can be used to obtain gel formation and a colour change from red to dark green corresponding to somatic cell counts and pH respectively, much like the CMT reagent. The test conducted revealed 53.57%, 46.42%, 42.85% and 42.85% of cows’ fore-quarter milk samples were positive to CMT, detergents A, B and C respectively. The combination of household detergent and water extract of Zobo can therefore be an alternative to CMT reagent in the detection of subclinical mastitis, especially in the rural areas. This indicates the potential of using these test reagents for subclinical mastitis screening. Further studies are suggested to standardize and patent this reagent as an alternative for subclinical mastitis diagnostic test.