Lactoferrin and Lysozyme in Milk During Acute Mastitis and Their Inhibitory Effect in Delvotest P

Microbiological methods for detection of antibiotic residues in milk give no explanations regarding the identity of the inhibitory substance(s). Natural antibacterial substances, present at higher concentrations in mastitic milk and in colostrum, occasionally cause false positive results in antibiotic assays. In an earlier investigation, lysozyme and lactoferrin were shown to inhibit the growth of Bacillus stearothermophilus var. calidolactis spores, used as test organism in Delvotest P. To study the effect of high lysozyme and lactoferrin concentrations in milk on the Delvotest P, cows were subjected to acute experimental mastitis by infusion of Salmonella typhimurium SH 4809 endotoxin. Milk samples were collected up to 11 h postinfusion. Concentrations of lactoferrin and lysozyme, somatic cell count, and effect on Delvotest P were determined. A positive reaction in the Delvotest correlated well with an increase in lactoferrin and lysozyme concentrations. The nature of the inhibitory effect is briefly discussed.