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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #254913
Title: In vitro comparison of nitroethane, 2-nitro-1-propanol, lauric acid, Lauricidin(R), and the Hawaiian marine algae, Chaetoceros, activity against anaerobically grown Staphylococcus aureus

Author
item BOZIC, ALEKSANDAR - University Of Novi Sad
item Anderson, Robin
item Callaway, Todd
item Nisbet, David
item RICKE, STEVE - University Of Arkansas
item CRANDALL, PHIL - University Of Arkansas
item O'BRYAN, CORLISS - University Of Arkansas

Submitted to: International Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/13/2010
Publication Date: 9/14/2010
Citation: Bozic, A., Anderson, R.C., Callaway, T.R., Nisbet, D.J., Ricke, S., Crandall, P., O'Bryan, C. 2010. In vitro comparison of nitroethane, 2-nitro-1-propanol, lauric acid, lauricidin(R), and the Hawaiian marine algae, Chaetoceros, activity against anaerobically grown Staphylococcus aureus. International Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine. 8:180-184.

Interpretive Summary: Cattle are subject to mastitis, an infection of the mammary gland, that is very economically impactful to dairy producers in the U.S. Mastitis is often caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, which can live in the gut of cattle. A series of methane inhibitors that have been proposed for use to improve cattle feed efficiency were tested for their inhibitory effect against S. aureus. The commercial product Lauricidin®, which is a monoglycerol ester of lauric acid, showed the greatest effectiveness against S. aureus, suggesting a potential role as a non-antibiotic treatment against mastitis.

Technical Abstract: Mastitis is a common illness of dairy cattle and is very costly, economically, to the dairy farmer. Thus, there is a need to develop broad-spectrum therapies that are effective while not leading to unacceptably long antibiotic withdrawal times. The effects of the CH4-inhibitors nitroethane (2 mg/ml), 2-nitro-1-propanol (2 mg/ml), lauric acid (5 mg/ml), the commercial product Lauricidin® (5 mg/ml), and a finely-ground product of the Hawaiian marine algae, Chaetoceros (10 mg/ml), were compared in pure cultures of S. aureus. Lauricidin® exhibited the most bactericidal acidity against S. aureus. These results suggest potential for treatments with a non-antibiotic compound could be effective against mastitis.