Research papers validate cow urine’s ‘anti-infective’ properties: IIT-Madras Director
V. Kamakoti
| Photo Credit: RAGU R
Indian Institute of Technology Madras Director V. Kamakoti on Monday claimed five scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals validated the cow urine had anti-infective properties.
On January 15, at a goshala in West Mambalam, he had said cow urine had antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. He said researchers had conducted experiments and published scientific papers on the subject. He was invited to the goshala on the ‘Mattu Pongal’ Day, dedicated to cattle.
A video clip of his speech went viral on social media, with many ridiculing his claim as unscientific and unbecoming of the head of an institution of eminence.
On Monday, the director said at a media interaction that five research papers on the properties of cow urine had been published in peer- reviewed journals. One of them, ‘Peptide profiling in cow urine reveals molecular signature of physiology-driven pathways and in-silico predicted bioactive properties’, by Rohit Kumar et al has been published in Nature. The research was done by ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana. It was published in 2021.
Other articles include A review on Gomutra (Cow Urine),published in Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, April-June 2020; Benefits of cow urine–a review, published in the International Journal of Recent Advances in Multidisciplinary Research in 2017; and Miraculous Benefits of cow urine: a review, in the Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics in 2020; and Chemotherapeutic potential of cow urine: a review in the Journal of Intercultural Ethnopharmacology published in April-June 2015.
He also shared the details of a patent from the United States given to Khanuja et al on the use of bioactive fraction from cow urine distillate, issued on May 24, 2005. The patent has been filed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
“The researchers have experimented and presented their findings. Nature is one of the top journals in the United States of America. The output in the research papers is the evidence,” he said.
Asked what was the topic of his speech, he said, “They asked me to speak on science and cow and I spoke on five topics, including about natural farming, gobar gas. They asked if there was scientific evidence that cow urine had medicinal properties.”
When pointed out that research papers on the harmful effects of cow urine had been shared on social media, he said: “I have not seen them. There may be other researchers.”
Mr. Kamakoti further explained that one paper had studied indigenous breeds of cows. He suggested that since there was so much interest now, researchers in Indian systems of medicine could conduct research.
Asked whether researchers of his institute would take up the subject, he said that if a researcher was interested, he or she was welcome. “We cannot force anyone to take up research on a specific subject.”
Asked whether he consumed panchakavyam (a concoction of cow’s milk, urine, dung, ghee, and curd), he said: “We do consume on certain occasions. I have consumed panchakavyam.”
Published – January 21, 2025 12:18 am IST
