Ruminant repellent from fresh lipoidal material

Abstract

A ruminant repellent is a composition which, when applied directly to or applied to the area surrounding edible material such as living plants, discourages ruminant animals from browsing such edible material. The ruminant repellent of the invention comprises a composition of matter containing a phospholipid as an active repellent ingredient. Phospholipids extracted from animal or plant lipoidal material contain the active repellent material which effectively discourages browsing by ruminants. Within the phospholipid fraction, lecithin and cephalin are active repellent components. Examples of phospholipid source materials which can be applied to edible material to effectively repel ruminants are unputrefied whole eggs, dried, powdered whole eggs, unputrefied egg yolk, and lipoidal material derived from ground shellfish and fish (such as shrimp or anchovy). If desired, preservatives can be added to the repellent composition to prevent or delay putrefaction in order to form a long lasting product. Some examples of preservatives which can be used are formaldehyde, benzoic acid, sodium proprionate, and inorganic salts such as sodium chloride. Alternatively, a phospholipid solvent such as isopropanol can be combined with the phospholipid source material to function both as a phospholipid extracting solvent and as a preservative. The repellent composition can be applied to edible material in pure form (with or without a preservative), but is preferably applied to or around the edible material as a minor proportion of a mixture comprising the repellent composition, a solvent for the phospholipids in the lipoidal source material, and a carrier (or diluent). Both aqueous and nonaqueous carriers can be effectively utilized.