PhytoMast® is a soothing blend of plant and vitamin oils that's been successfully used for cows and goats at dry-off by hundreds of farmers and their vets across the US and and Canada for more than 20 years.

The registered trademark for PhytoMast® defines it as a "non-feed botanical formulation for bovine udder health, namely, plant extracts for veterinary purposes; a non-feed botanical formulation for bovine udder health, namely, non-feed supplements for livestock."

Be it known that the manufacturer of PhytoMast® makes NO claims against any specific bacteria, viruses or fungi that may at times colonize the udder. The manufacturer never has and never will make any claims other than it soothes the inner surface epithelium of the udder that it contacts. While there may be information found in peer-reviewed literature from studies done by publicly funded grants, in no way does the company make any claim or insinuations that PhytoMast is efficacious against any specific pathogens. 

Interestingly, in a review by a well-known professional bovine organization that focused on thymol use in cattle, the group dismissed thymol from further discussion since, in their expert opinion, it did not show pharmacologic efficacy. The committee included top university pharmacologists who are experts at getting pharmaceutical company products through the FDA approval process. Thus, consideration of generic thymol having any merit in veterinary medicine for indications in cattle was terminated until thymol as a generic pharmaceutical agent could show efficacy. Accordingly, the thymol in PhytoMast® isn't a primary mode of action of the product... perhaps a secondary or tertiary action, but according to that organization, it is not a primary action.

Thus, all the ingredients of PhytoMast® together simply create a revitalizing effect with no pharmacologic activity on the surfaces they contact.

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Thymol's traditionally acknowledged antiseptic properties are then only a secondary effect in light of the committee's findings above. This indicates that the primary effect of PhytoMast® is not chemical but instead the primary effect is physical via the oily liquid protective film coating that soothes epithelium it contacts. This means PhytoMast® is actually a veterinary medical device. That may seem and sound odd ... but the primary action of a device is physical, unlike a true drug which is chemical. Because of the organization's findings that thymol does not show pharmacologic efficacy, PhytoMast® with its ingredients not having pharmacologic acitivity is a device.

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PhytoMast® is actually very similar to two other liquid products that exert physical effects and are FDA-cleared human devices (1) DuraDerm®, a liquid that provides a bandage effect to the skin and (2) Eroxon®, a liquid applied to the glans penis to counter erectile dysfunction. PhytoMast® is simliar in that it is app to provide a liquid protective film coating on a surface. The difference is that its oils lubricate the epithelium that line the teat canal and gland cistern especially right after the udder is completely emptied after the last milking at dry-off (if used as per label instructions)

PhytoMast® is to be put into an entirely empty udder at dry-off, but if it does accidentally contact milk, all the ingredients are known to be Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) for human consumption.

To soothe the teat lining and gland cistern surface in the quickest and most hygienic manner at dry-off, PhytoMast® comes in individual, ready-to-use, aseptic plastic infusion tubes for each teat (with alcohol pads). If you need further advice on your specific situation, Dr. Karreman is also available for consultations.

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PhytoMast

A physically soothing infusion for healthy dairy cows & goats at dry-off

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Indications: Healthy cows or goats at dry-off, as defined by (1) having a negative California Mastitis Test (CMT) and (2) that have not had clinical mastitis during the current lactation and (3) milk looks visually normal.

Instructions: (1) Milk animal out completely making sure all possible milk is evacuated from the quarter, (2) cleanse teat ends with alcohol pads provided, (3) remove cap and infuse one entire tube per teat. Do NOT massage.

Ingredients: Olive oil, angelica root oil, cinnamon bark oil, licorice root oil, thymol, wintergreen leaf oil (<5%), vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E.

Primary Intended Action of PhytoMast: physically soothe any irritated epithelial lining of the teat canal and gland cistern at dry-off. PhytoMast protectively coats the cells that line the teat canal and gland cistern. The cell type is called epithelium, the same cell type that makes up the external aspect of the body.

All ingredients are recognized as Common Food (21CFR102.5) and GRAS (21CFR172.510, 21CFR172.515, 21CFR182.10) 

Manufactured in a cGMP, FDA-registered facility

Manufactured for:

CowMaster, LLC                                                      

PO BOX 6                                                  

Saxapahaw, NC 27340  

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• The primary purpose of PhytoMast® is as a teat lubricant and temporary liquid barrier film for cows, goats and sheep at dry-off. Its primary purpose is to soothe and help revitalize epithelial cells that line the teat canal and gland cistern that it contacts. Think of olive oil upon irritated skin (epithelium) and feeling its soothing effect. The same is for PhytoMast® on the teat canal lining and gland cistern surface epithelium.

• When a cow is *completely* milked out at the final milking at dry-off, PhytoMast® will come into contact with the teat canal lininmg and gland cistern lining, which are the most outside anatomical layer of the cow even though you can't see it visually. Anatomically speaking, this epithelial layer is the external surface on the inside of the cow. This sounds odd but it's anatomically true. The primary function of PhytoMast® is to soothe and revitalize that epithelium at dry-off and thus improve epithelial vitality for a healthy start to the animal's dry period (her "vacation-from-lactation"). 

• Use PhytoMast® only on healthy animals that have a negative California Mastitis Test (CMT) and haven't had any visually observable irregular milk during lactation. 

• PhytoMast® makes no claims against any specific pathogens. It is not a treatment to cure any sort of disease.

• PhytoMast® (the entire product) is considered Generally Recognized As Safe and Effective (GRASE) for dry-off, by a group of scientific experts who studied it and published studies using it in well-controlled clinical investigations that establish it as safe and effective for dry-off in dairy cows. (Letter on file with the company.) 

• All substance ingredients of PhytoMast® are prior sanctioned or otherwise approved by FDA or GRAS or an approved food additive listed in CFR citations. CFR citations include 21CFR102.5 shows Olive Oil, the main ingredient, as Common Food; ; complexing agents of the product include: Angelica 21CFR182.10, Licorice 21CFR184.1408, Thymol 21CFR182.10, 21CFR182.20, 21CFR172.105, 21CFR172.515, 40CFR180.1240; Wintergreen at <5% inclusion 21CFR201.303, Vitamin A 21CFR582.5930, Vitamin D3 21CFR172.380, and Vitamin E 21CFR184.1890, 21CFR182.8890.

• PhytoMast® is manufactured in a cGMP inspected FDA registered facility.

• Notably, in relation to the PMO, PhytoMast® is labelled to be used to dry-off dairy animals that will presumably not be milked after its use and thus no milk will go for shipment for pasteurization.

• In case a cow has received PhytoMast® and is accidentally milked into the milk tank, PhytoMast® does NOT trigger the Delvotest P nor Charm SL Beta-lactam tests.

• The first successful dissertation of a PhD in the United States that focused on non-antibiotic treatment for udder health was awarded in 2013 at NC State University to Dr. Keena Mullen. A large part of her work was based about PhytoMast® for dry-off.

• PhytoMast® complexing agents provide a multi-prong effect that supports healthy cellular vitality.  In contrast, continually using the same antibiotic over and over to dry-off cows goes completely against basic medical principles and leads to antibiotic resistance/ antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Instead, if you have healthy cows, you can reduce antibiotic use by using PhytoMast® at dry-off to soothe tired and worn-out epithelium and to revitalize interior surfaces of the teat and gland cistern.

• PhytoMast® is manufactured and packaged in an FDA-registered, cGMP facility in the USA. 

• PhytoMast® is OMRI approved.