Influence of milk, milk fractions and milk proteins on the growth and viability of mastitis-causing Staphylococcus aureus strain

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of milk and milk fractions (cell-reduced, skim and whey) obtained from different cows on the growth rate of mastitis-causing Staphylococcus aureus strain at low inoculum density, simulating the early phase of intramammary infection. The association of the selected milk proteins, including α-lactalbumin, β-lactalbumin, lactoferrin, bovine serum albumin, γ-globulin and casein with the bacterial growth was also analysed. Twelve Polish Holstein-Friesian cows having no history of mastitis during the previous and current lactation were selected for this study. The S. aureus strain used in this study was isolated from a cow with clinical mastitis and was characterised by confirmed ability to spread among cows within a herd. Linear regression coefficients were calculated for associations between milk constituents and bacterial counts in whole milk as dependent variables. The comparison of bacterial growth between whole milk, cell reduced, skim and whey fractions was determined by a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the present study showed that the growth of mastitis-causing S. aureus was less stimulated by whole milk samples and their individual fractions in comparison to the nutrient microbiological medium. The strongest inhibition of bacterial growth was observed for whey fraction. Lactoferrin was the only protein causing a slight decrease in the growth of S. aureus. It was concluded that, depending on its growth medium and antimicrobial properties, milk may be among the factors of key importance for the incidence of this disease among individual cows.