Use of homeopathic medicines for the treatment of bovine mastitis: Review

Abstract

. Mastitis presents as the most important disease in milk cows, due to the damages caused by loss of productivity and milk discharge according to some treatments, such as antimicrobials. Faced with the problem of antibiotics due to poor application or bacterial resistance, an alternative for the control of mastitis is the use of homeopathy. The aim of the present study is to inform what has already been researched about the use of homeopathic medicines for the treatment of mastitis. Homeopathic therapy fits within the precepts of organic farming, being a suitable method for this purpose. The remedies used for the treatment of the disease are from the most diverse origins, plants, minerals, animals and of great representatively, of isolates or bacterial compounds, of microorganisms that are the cause of mastitis. The ease of administration of homeopathic medicines presents a great advantage, since in the most common form of use, it can be added in drinking water or mixed in the feed avoiding stress on the part of the animal. The results in mastitis due to the application of homeopathy can be visualized in the variation of the somatic cell count, reactions in the CMT (California Mastitis Test), absence of isolation of milk microorganisms and decrease in the percentage of cases of clinical and subclinical mastitis. Although the homeopathic treatment proves to be a great alternative for the control and treatment of mastitis, the results are quite variable due to the different methodologies used and the large number of different homeopathic medicines used.