Indigenous knowledge shared by Gujarat based farmer can combat Mastitis, an ailment of dairy cattle

What is the News?

Based on the indigenous knowledge shared by a farmer from Gujarat, National Innovation Foundation(NIF) has developed a poly-herbal and cost-effective medicine named Mastirak Gel to treat Mastitis, an infectious disease of dairy cattle.

What is Mastitis disease in Cattle?

Mastitis is an infectious disease condition resulting in an inflammatory reaction in the mammary gland of the cow. 

Caused by: There are a variety of microorganism species that are known to cause mastitis. These range from viruses, mycoplasma, fungus and bacteria.

Symptoms: The clear sign of mastitis is inflammation of the mammary gland that turns into a red and hard mass. This affects farm productivity due to a fall in milk quality thus impacting income-generating activities. 

Treatment: The treatment usually involves antibiotics. But this poses a public health hazard.

How will the Mastirak Gel help in the treatment of Mastitis?

Mastirak Gel has been developed utilizing indigenous knowledge. Hence, it can be a sustainable alternative towards the treatment of mastitis with minimal use of antibiotic therapy.

Source: This post is based on the article “Indigenous knowledge shared by Gujarat based farmers can combat Mastitis, an ailment of dairy cattle” published in PIB on 20th October 2021.