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Cow urine

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Cow urine

Cow urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism. Cow urine is also used in folk medicine in India, Myanmar, Nepal and Nigeria.

Claimed benefits and usage

In religious rituals

Some Hindus claim that cow urine has a special significance as a medicinal drink.[1][2] The sprinkling of cow urine is said to have a spiritual cleansing effect as well.[3][4] Cattle were a basic economic unit in ancient India, and cows are holy for many Hindus and their slaughter is considered to be sinful.

For pharmaceutical purposes

Cow's urine used as a medical treatment in India. A sick man is held over a cow's hindquarters, so that the cow's urine streams onto his face.

Cow urine is used for therapeutic purposes in ancient Ayurvedic medicine.[5][6] Urine of a pregnant cow is considered special; it is claimed to contain special hormones and minerals.[5] In Ayurveda, Gomutra is claimed to be helpful in the treatment of leprosy, fever, peptic ulcer, liver ailments, anaemia and cancer.[6][7]

Cow urine is also used in Myanmar and Nigeria as a folk medicine.[8][9] In Nigeria, a concoction of leaves of tobacco, garlic and lemon basil juice, rock salt and cow urine is used to treat convulsions in children.[9] This has resulted in the death of several children from respiratory depression.[10]

As a floor cleaner

A floor-cleaning fluid called Gaunyle is marketed by an organisation called Holy Cow Foundation.[11] Maneka Gandhi, Women and Child Development Minister, has proposed that Gaunyle be used instead of Phenyl in government offices.[12] In May 2015, Rajendra Singh Rathore, Medical and Health Minister of Rajasthan, inaugurated a ₹40 million (US$480,000) cow-urine refinery in Jalore.[13][14] The refinery was set up by Parthvimeda Gau Pharma Pvt. Ltd. which produces a floor cleaner called Gocleaner.[14]

In organic farming

Jeevamrutha storage cans

Gomutra is used as a manure for production of rice.[15] Jeevamrutha is a fertilizer made from a mixture of cow urine, cow dung, jaggery, pulse flour and rhizosphere soil.[16] A mixture of gomutra, custard apple leaves and neem leaves after boiling is said to serve as a biopesticide.[15]

Scientific studies

A 2012 study published in the journal Ancient Science of Life suggested rats with diabetes that were fed Gomutra Ark had significantly lower blood glucose levels than rats in a control group did. "This study supports the traditional use of Gomutra Ark in diabetes," the researchers wrote, noting that it has a "high therapeutic index and is safe for chronic use".[17] However, in a 2012 study published in the journal Ancient Science of Life, researchers stated that "this study supports the traditional use of Gomutra Ark [a cow urine product] in diabetes".[17] Moreover, a 2013 study in the International Brazilian Journal of Urology claimed that distilled cow urine could help to prevent the development of kidney stones in rats. [17]

See also

References

  1. ^ Ben Burrows (13 January 2014). "Pictured: A very few Indian Hindu worshippers drink COW URINE to help prevent cancer". Mirror. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  2. ^ Dean Nelson (11 February 2009). "India makes cola from cow urine". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Kamadhenu Sutra". Outlook India. 10 March 2003. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Teachers "purify" students with cow urine". Reuters. 23 April 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  5. ^ a b N. H. Sahasrabudhe; R. D. Mahatme (2000). Mystic Science of Vastu. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 68. ISBN 978-81-207-2206-4. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  6. ^ a b T V Sairam (16 January 2008). The Penguin Dictionary of Alternative Medicine. Penguin Books Limited. p. 311. ISBN 978-93-5118-127-9. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Cow urine aids treatment of cancer, asthma?". The Economic Times. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  8. ^ "An amazing cow's urine therapy practice in Myanmar" (Document). University of Toyama. hdl:10110/1993.
  9. ^ a b "Effects of cow urine concoction and nicotine on the nerve-muscle preparation in common African toad Bufo regularis". Biomedical Research. 16 (3): 205–211. 2005.
  10. ^ "Don't use cow urine to treat infant epilepsy, Kwara warns mothers". Premium Times. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Use cow urine to clean offices, says Maneka Gandhi". The Times of India. 25 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Cow urine cleaner to replace phenyl in government offices". India Today. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Cow-urine refinery inaugurated at Jalore". Deccan Herald. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Cow urine to be used to clean Rajasthan government hospitals". India Today. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  15. ^ a b "Farmer cultivates paddy with cow urine, dung". The Hindu. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  16. ^ T. Satyanarayana; Bhavdish Narain Johri; Anil Prakash (2 January 2012). Microorganisms in Sustainable Agriculture and Biotechnology. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 63. ISBN 978-94-007-2214-9. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  17. ^ a b c Contributor 2014-01-13T18:26:41Z, Marc Lallanilla-Live Science. "Udder Nonsense? Cow Urine Promoted for Health Benefits". livescience.com. Retrieved 30 December 2019. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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