Gomutra

Gomutra (Sanskrit: गोमूत्र; lit. cow urine) refers to the usage of cow urine for therapautic purposes in traditional Indian medicine, Ayurveda.[1] It also used in Vaastu Shastra for purification purposes.[2]

Gomutra is also an important component of the mixture called Panchagavya also used in Ayurveda.[1] Urine of a pregnant cow is considered special and it is claimed that it contains special hormones and minerals.[2]

Claimed benefits and usage

In religious rituals

Sprinkling of cow urine is said to have a spiritual cleansing effect.[3][4]

For pharmaceutical purposes

In Ayurveda, Gomutra is claimed to be helpful in the treatment of leprosy and cancer. A mixture of gomutra, Triphala, and cow milk is used for the treatment of Anaemia. It is also used in the treatment of fever by mixing it with black pepper, yoghurt, and ghee (ghrita). A mixture of gomutra, neem bark, vasaka bark, kurilo bark, kaner leaves. A mixture of gomutra and dharuharidra is used for epilepsy.[1]

Cow urine is also used in Myanmar and Nigeria as a folk medicine.[5][6] 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.[6] This has resulted in the death of several children from respiratory depression.[7]

According to the head of the Ayurvedic institute Dhanwanthari Vaidyasala of Thodupuzha, Satish Namboodiri, it is also used for peptic ulcer, certain type of cancer, liver ailments, and asthma.[8]

In 2002, a US patent was issued to a group of Indian scientists from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). It was an antibiotic and cow urine distillate mixture. The cow urine was claimed to be serving as a bioenhancer, enhancing anti-microbial activity of antibiotic and antifungal agents.[9][10][11]

In 2010, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-funded Go-vigyan Anusandhan Kendra in Deolapar and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) acquired an US patent on a gomutra-based drug. They claimed that the patent validates that gomutra has anti-cancer properties. The patent was for a gomutra-based mixture that claimed to prevent oxidative damage to DNA.[12][13]

Gomutra is also marketed as a health drink. In 2009, Kanpur Gaushala Society (KGS) in Kanpur released a product called Goloka Pay, a cold drink containing 5% distilled cow urine. It was released in two flavours, orange and lemon. It also contained herbs like tulsi, shankhpushpi and brahmi.[14] Also in 2009, the Cow Protection Department of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Haridwar announced their plans to release a similar product.[15]

Comsetic products like soaps and shampoos are also made from gomutra.[16][17] A floor-cleaning fluid called Gaunyle is marketed by an organisation called Holy Cow Foundation.[18]

In organic farming

Jeevamrutha storage cans

Gomutra is used as a manure for production of rice.[19] Jeevamrutha is a fertilizer made from a mixture of cow urine, cow dung, jaggery, pulse flour and rhizosphere soil.[20] A mixture of gomutra, custard apple leaves and neem leaves after boiling is said to serve as a biopesticide.[19]

In 2012, College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences in Wayanad district began selling packaged gomutra and Panchagavya. The products were primary directed towards organic farming with claims that it would reduce usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Gomutra is supposed to increase plant resistance and Panchagavya is supposed to increase growth of soil bacteria and improve fertility. The head of the institute, Joseph Mathew, said that quality was assured by collecting by the first urine of the day from the cows. He added that it cannot be used of medicinal purposes.[8]

Scientific studies

A 1975 study on mice found that cow urine causes death in high doses.[21] A similar 1976 study on dogs showed that repeated administration of cow urine concoction as used in Nigerian folk medicine, resulted in hypotension and tachypnea, and also death.[22] A 2001 study found prions in detectable amount in the urine of cows suffering from bovine spongiform encephalopathy.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 T V Sairam (16 January 2008). The Penguin Dictionary of Alternative Medicine. Penguin Books Limited. p. 316. ISBN 978-93-5118-127-9. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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.
  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. ↑ "An amazing cow's urine therapy practice in Myanmar". University of Toyama. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Effects of cow urine concoction and nicotine on the nerve-muscle preparation in common African toad Bufo regularis". Biomedical Research 16 (16 (3)): 205–211. 2005.
  7. ↑ "Don’t use cow urine to treat infant epilepsy, Kwara warns mothers". Premium Times. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Cow urine aids treatment of cancer, asthma?". The Economic Times. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  9. ↑ US 6410059 "Pharmaceutical composition containing cow urine distillate and an antibiotic"
  10. ↑ "Indian patents cow urine for medicinal use". The Indian Express. 3 July 2002. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Cow urine therapy". The Hindu. 19 September 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "RSS-sponsored cow urine drug gets US, China patents". The Indian Express. 19 July 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  13. ↑ US 7718360 "Composition (RUCD) for protecting and/or repairing DNA from oxidative damages and a method thereof"
  14. ↑ "Pure Cow-Ka Cola". Outlook India. 17 August 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  15. ↑ "Coke has a rival: RSS's cow urine cola". The Indian Express. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "Holy cow! Vishwa Hindu Parishad launches ‘Gau mutra’ cosmetics". Deccan Chronicle. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "Soaps, shampoos from cow urine!". DNA India. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Use cow urine to clean offices, says Maneka Gandhi". The Times of India. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Farmer cultivates paddy with cow urine, dung". The Hindu. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ DD Oyebola; RA Elegbe (1975). "Cow's urine poisoning in Nigeria. Experimental observations in mice.". Tropical and geographical medicine 27 (2): 194––202. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  22. ↑ R. A. Elegbe; D. D. O. Oyebola (1977). "Cow's urine poisoning in Nigeria: cardiorespiratory effects of cow's urine in dogs". Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 71 (2): 127–132. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  23. ↑ GM Shaked; Y Shaked; Z Kariv-Inbal; M Halimi (2001). "A protease-resistant prion protein isoform is present in urine of animals and humans affected with prion diseases". Journal of Biological Chemistry 276 (34): 31479––31482. Retrieved 29 March 2015.

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