Totara touted as mastitis remedy

INNOVATION: Doug Mende of Mende Biotechnology, Carterton, holds his Totarol - an alternative to antibiotics for dairy cows. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

An alternative to antibiotics for use in the dairy industry has been developed by a Carterton businessman.

Mende Biotech director Doug Mende has been exporting his product, Totarol, an extract with antibacterial properties from the totara tree, to many big overseas cosmetic companies like L'Oreal and Jurlique for more than 10 years.

"It's really taken off." Now he is estimating 150 per cent growth this year with his new product, also using Totarol, and expects he will need more staff in Carterton if all goes well.

"A couple of years ago I started looking at the application of it under T2G Biotechnology [his other company] for animals and humans."

After investing a lot of money and running trials, he has a treatment for mastitis - inflammation of the udder in cows and a costly problem in the dairy industry.

It had been a challenging past few years, said Mr Mende. "One of the hardest things about developing it has been the delivery system - getting the active [ingredient] to get to the bugs to kill them. We've cracked it."

He said the development was important as resistance to antibiotics was a growing concern around the world.

"It's a huge, huge problem. It's so important now. We have to find alternatives."

Independent testing showed his Totarol alternative was more effective at killing bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, than penicillin.

"It's the first time we've had the proof," said Mr Mende.

The bacteria could cause mastitis, leading to milk production loss in the dairy industry. "It's extremely effective against mastitis - 400,000 cows get it every year. It's a huge problem."

It took only 0.2 per cent of the active ingredient to kill the bugs. "That's significant."

The company was also looking at trialling the product on dogs with dermatitis and it was being developed into a powder toothpaste and tablets for the US military.

"The biggest growth market is in oral care," he said.

With his new products, he was looking to investors and other companies to develop more of a commercial focus and take it worldwide.

He already had interest from several companies wanting to use it for human application.