Friday, March 29, 2024

Plants hold promise

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Finding a replacement for iodine and chlorhexidine in teat-sprays is giving University of Otago research fellow Adam Heikal at least one year of work and maybe many more.
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Microbiologist Heikal was awarded a $126,988 Agribusiness Innovation Grant from AGMARDT (Agricultural and Marketing Development Trust) and teat-spray manufacturer Deosan earlier this year to identify new antimicrobials that might be used for mastitis prevention.

Iodine and chlorhexidine are used extensively in hospitals and there is concern that by using them in the dairy industry, bacteria resistance could become a problem in the future.

“These are the only two antimicrobials that the dairy industry currently relies on for teat-spraying and it makes sense to find an alternative before we have to,” Heikal said.

He is focusing on compounds found in New Zealand plants and has about 2500, which have been identified by the study’s collaborators, to test.

“We can do 96 compounds at a time and we’re looking for something that inhibits the growth and metabolism of Streptococcus uberis which is the main bacteria which causes mastitis in NZ.”

He’s working in Professor Greg Cook’s lab at the university and using the same ground-breaking techniques which were used recently by Cook and others to find a new treatment for TB in humans.

“We’ve established this platform for testing substances and now we can use it to help stop problems before they happen. Besides mastitis, we’re also thinking of using it to find antimicrobials for foot rot in sheep.”

Although the 12 months of research funding should be enough time to identify new antimicrobials for mastitis, Heikal is applying for further funding through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to see the project through.

“Once we find compounds that work, then we have to figure out how they are working and see if we can make a whole series of derivatives to reduce the risks of resistance arising to these new compounds.

We’ll probably bring in a medical chemist for the last part.

“And then we have to look at what concentration they work best at, what they can be mixed with, are they safe for both cows and humans and do they do the job on the farm.

“As well there are all the regulatory requirements.”

Heikal admits to never having been on a dairy farm and has only ever seen cows teat-sprayed by watching online videos.

“Working in the agricultural industry is completely new for me and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve partnered with Deosan with this and we’re also talking with DairyNZ and other agricultural organisations to make sure what we find, once we find it, can actually work outside of the lab.”

What he finds might also affect other mastitis preventatives and treatments in NZ and overseas.

“As well as Strep uberis, we will also look at Staphylococcus aureus. They both cause mastitis. We want whatever we find not just to replace the current teat-sprays but actually to reduce the current levels of clinical and subclinical mastitis in cows.”

Heikal did his PhD at the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom, which also took him to Oxford University, but he came to NZ for his post-doc to work with Cook on drug discovery.

Six years later and he’s still in Dunedin, with a young family and loving it. Although the university’s bluestone buildings don’t quite date back as far as Oxford’s, the friendly campus and city’s attractions have made it easy for him to stay.

“NZ is known for its innovation and although its farming systems are different to many other parts of the world, the principles are the same.

“It’s exciting to be part of something that has so much potential.”

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