GB2200845A

GB2200845A - Teat-treating composition

Info

Publication number: GB2200845A
Application number: GB08800357A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Peter Corby
Original assignee: Diversey Ltd
Current assignee: Diversey Ltd
Priority date: 1987-01-09
Filing date: 1988-01-08
Publication date: 1988-08-17
Anticipated expiration: 2008-01-08
Also published as: GB8700466D0; GB8800357D0; GB2200845B

Abstract

A teat-treating composition comprises a biocide and an emulsion of a non-water-soluble component e.g. a skin conditioner or fly repellent.

Description

"TEAT-TREATING COMPOSITIONS, PRODUCTION AND USE THEREOF." This invention relates to teat-treating compositions, to the production thereof and to the use thereof; more particularly, it relates to teat dips or sprays.

For many years, in particular cows' teats have been sanitised immediately after milking in order to reduce the incidence of mastitis. This is generally carried out by either dipping or spraying the teats. Mastitis is a condition of microbiological colonisation of cows' milking organs. If contamination reaches a sufficiently high level due to either challenge or microbial growth, the clinical symptoms of mastitis become evident resulting, inter alia, in the additional expense to a farmer of milk loss and veterinary treatment. (This represents the largest field of interest, but the present compositions may also be used on other animals.) Known bovine teat dip or spray preparations include many biocidal agents, such as chlorine, iodine and chlorhexidine.The use of such biocides, which in some instances may be irritant to skin, together with other factors, notably climatic conditions, necessitate the incorporation of emollients in bovine teat dips and sprays in order to maintain a good healthy skin condition.

Good teat skin condition is essential in order to promote the natural immune response defence mechanisms against bacterial contamination and hence to reduce the incidence of mastitis. Good skin condition is widely recognised as being promoted by the retention of moisture in the skin. This is normally achieved in teat dips or sprays by the inclusion of humectant materials, such as glycerine, a water-soluble hygroscopic compound. The function of such materials is to remain on or near the surface of the skin and to absorb water from the atmosphere to compensate for the natural water loss through the skin.

This process works perfectly adequately in the majority of circumstances, but may work in reverse, causing drying of the skin, particularly in very dry atmospheres or during hot summers.

It is possible to promote good skin condition by another mechanism whereby the loss of water to the atmosphere is prevented or considerably reduced. In order to achieve this, the skin must be coated with a non-watersoluble material, such as petroleum jelly. There are many preparations available to farmers for this purpose - such as salves or creams, and these are used in a remedial manner, i.e. only onanimals with specific skin problems.

It is impractical to use creams or salves on all cows in a prophylactic mode because of high use rates and consequent high cost. They are also not easily applied.

A surprising advantageous new method of applying nonwater-soluble components for the prevention of water loss from the skin has now been discovered. An emulsions of a non-water-soluble component has now been prepared in a teat treating composition which is sufficiently mobile to enable easy application in a prophylactic manner by either dipping or spraying.

In a main embodiment, the present invention relates to a teat dip or spray which is a prophylactic preparation for use as an aid in the control of mastitis in dairy cattle comprising an. efficacious level of biocide in combination with either an emulsion of a non-water-soluble component alone or a mixture of a non-water-soluble component in emulsion form with a water-soluble component, which preparation is primarily for the purpose of producing good skin condition and which is in a physical form which is both stable and capable of economic use.

The present invention provides a teat-treating composition which comprises a biocide and an emulsion of a non-water-soluble component, such as a skin-conditioner.

Such may be produced by conventional means. The present invention also relates thereto.

The use of the present compositions is also encompassed.

Such emulsions may be either clear, i.e. micro emulsions, or opaque in the more usual manner. More than sufficient quantities of non-water-soluble component(s) may be incorporated to give excellent skin condition. The present compositions also have a unique combination of other desirable advantageous properties including: (1) The emulsions, whether clear or opaque, will not precipitate on standing, exhibit good long term stability and do not require agitation prior to use.

(2) The ennilsions, whether clear or opaque, are substantially free of inorganic salts and therefore will not leave or deposit a source of irritation on the teat skin after application, for example by dipping.

(3) The viscosity characteristics of the preparations are such that the use rate is not excessive and any excess will readily run off, even in cold weather, but not so rapidly that absorption or penetration of the germicidal components and emollients is reduced to an ineffective level, hence sufficient germicidal andskin conditioning components are retained on the skin in order to promote the desirable soft, supple skin condition necessary for good udder health.

(4) The preparations are non-irritating and non sensitising either to animals or to humans.

(5) The pH of the preparations is preferably within the range of from 3 to 6, i.e. very close to that of the skin.

According to the present invention the teat-treating compositions may be in either concentrate form (for later dilution with water) or ready-to-use form. In the latter case, a composition in the form of a dip or spray, for example, would preferably have the viscosity of from 10 to 500 centistokes.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various conventional biocides, especially cationics, are suitable for use in accordance with the.present invention.

They are commonly used in addition to the emulsified skinconditioning component. Examples include chlorhexidine, which may be in salt form, and "PMBH" (polymeric biguanide hydrochloride), as well as cationic surfactant biocides.

The following is provided by way of illustration: Example 1 wt % Chlorhexidine digluconate 2.25% Propan-2-ol 5.00% Mineral oil WOM.14 4.00% C13-15 alcohol 3 E.O. 1.03% Nonyl phenol 8 E.O. 0.38% Edicol ponceau 4R 0.0013% Glycerine 6.00% Water 81.34% Teat skin condition is a major factor in the prevention of bovine mastitis. Dried, cracked or sore teats becpme readily infected and are a constant problem, particularly in cold weather. This condition may be rectified by the use of creams and salves, but in order to prevent deterioration of skin condition it has been found to be efficacious to employ higher levels of emollients than normal in adverse climatic conditions. Such preparatidns as in Example l for instance have also been found to be therapeutic and will rapidly restore dried and cracked teats to good condition. Thus, the present invention provides preparations which are efficacious in hot and cold climatic conditions and which retain the necessary low viscosity and high stability.

Example 2 wt % Chlorhexidine digluconate 2.25% Propan-2-ol 5.00% Mineral oil OM.14 4.00% C1-15 alcohol 3 E.O. 1.03% Nonyl phenol 8 E.O. 0.38 Edicol ponceau 4R 0.0013% Glycerine 3.00% 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol 0. 50% Dimethyl phthalate 0.50% Water 83.34% A particularly virulent form of mastitis is the so-called "Summer Mastitis", also known as "August bag". This condition is vectored by flies, often involving the bacterium Corynebacterium Pyogenes as one of the infecting species. In order -to prevent the deposit of bacteria by flies, it is no use simply to incorporateaninsecticide into a preparation, but rather it is necessary to use a fly repellant.There are a number of fly repellant materials generally available which may be used to good effect incorporated into a prophylactic treatment applied to the teats. Generally, however, these materials are not water-soluble. In accordance with the present invention it has been found that fly repellant materials, such as 2-ethyl1,3-hexanediol, may be incorporated into a teat dip or spray admixture with the non-water-soluble component of the emulsions. The above formulation is one such example. Such may be produced by mixing.

Example 3 wt % Chlorhexidine digluconate ;25 Propan-2-ol 5.00% Mineral oil WOM.14 4.00% C13-15 alcohol 3 E.O. 1.03% Nonyl phenol 8 E.O. 0.38% Edicol ponceau 4R 0.0013% Water 87.34% For general use, the oil phase alone has sufficient emollient properties to give an efficacious teat dip or spray preparation. Example 3 is typical of the type of preparation which has been found to give excellent skin condition with the oil acting as an emollient and as a barrier to prevent moisture loss from the teat skin according to the manner described above.

Example 4 wt % Polyhexamethylene biguanide hydrochloride 4% Mineral oil 2% Propan-2-ol 5% Cl3-l5 alcohol 3 E.O. 1.5% Nonyl phenol 8 E.O. 0.55% Glycerine 3% Patent Blue V 0.005% Water to 100% Example 5 wt % Iodine 28% ) - Complex Nonyl Phenol 12 E.O. 72% ) 1.0% (to 2000 ppm) C13-15 alcohol 3 E.O. 3.68% Nonyl Phenol 8 E.O. 1.48% Mineral Oil 7.4% Water to 100% Examples 4 and 5 illustrate the use of the present emulsion system with other biocides. Occasionally, minor adjustments in the emulsifier system may be desirable to stabilise the formulation, Such is within the competence of those skilled in the art. In all cases, the product has a low viscosity particularly suitable for dipping and spraying and has the high stability necessary for a prolonged shelf life.

Example 6 wt% WOM 14 2% PEG 600 monostearate 1.07% Crill 3 0.43% Glycerine 3.0% Ethylan CPG 7545 0.5% Imsol A 5% Chlorhexidine digluconate B.P. 2.25% Water 85.75% Although the formulation may be regarded as -a little - more difficult to produce in that heat is required to solubilise the components, stability is good at high temperature and such a product would -be particularly useful in hot countries.

Claims

1. A teat-treating composition which comprises a biocide and an emulsion of a non-water-soluble component.

2. A composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein the non-water-soluble component comprises a skinconditioner.

3. A composition as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the non-water-soluble component comprises a fly repellent.

4. A composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the biocide is selected from chlorhexidine and salts thereof, polymeric biguanide hydrochloride and cationic surfactant biocides.

5. A composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein it is transparent, translucent or opaque.

6. A composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5 wherein it is in the form of a concentrate for dilution.

7. A composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5 wherein it is in diluted ready-to-use form.

8. A composition as claimed in claim 7 wherein the viscosity is from 10 to 500 centistokes.

9. A composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 wherein it is in the form of a dip or spray.

10. A composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9 wherein the stability is extended to higher temperatures.

11. A composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10 substantially as herein described with particular reference to the Examples.

12. A process for the production of a composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 11 substantially as herein described with particular reference to the Examples.

13. The use of a composition as claimed in any of claims 1 to 11 or produced by a process as claimed in claim 12 substantially as herein described with particular reference to the Examples.