UpdateBot at 09:52, 3 May 2022

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{{Short description|Liquid by-product of metabolism}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

'''Cow urine''' or Gomutra is a liquid by-product of metabolism in cows. Cow urine is used as medicine in [[India]], [[Myanmar]], and [[Nigeria]]. While cow urine and [[Panchagavya|cow dung]] have benefits as fertilizers, the proponents' claims about its curing diseases and cancer have no scientific backing.<ref name=Nelson/><ref>{{cite news |title= A cure for cancer – or just a very political animal? |author= Andrew Buncombe |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/a-cure-for-cancer-ndash-or-just-a-very-political-animal-2031253.html |newspaper= The Independent |date = 21 July 2010 |access-date=21 March 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/from-cure-in-cow-urine-to-superior-child-pseudoscience-inviting-research-118030200581_1.html |title = From cure in cow urine to 'superior child', pseudoscience inviting research |first=Ankur|last=Paliwal|date=3 March 2018|via=Business Standard|newspaper=Business Standard India|access-date=8 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008202044/https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/from-cure-in-cow-urine-to-superior-child-pseudoscience-inviting-research-118030200581_1.html |archive-date=8 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/of-cowpathy-amp-its-miracles/article8994408.ece |title = Of 'cowpathy' & its miracles|first=R. |last=RAMACHANDRAN |website=Frontline}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/opinion/mr-modi-dont-patent-cow-urine.html |title=Mr. Modi, Don't Patent Cow Urine|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=2016-06-16|last1=Prabhala|first1=Achal|last2=Krishnaswamy|first2=Sudhir|access-date=9 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008202044/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/opinion/mr-modi-dont-patent-cow-urine.html|archive-date=8 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Usage ==
[[File:Cow's urine used as a medical treatment in India Wellcome V0041323.jpg|thumb|260px|Cow's urine historically used as a treatment in [[India|Indian]] [[Ayurvedic medicine]]. A sick man is held over a cow's hindquarters so that the cow's urine streams onto his face.]]

===Folk medicine===
[[File:Cow urine.JPG|thumb| 260px| Cow urine]]

Some Hindus claim that cow urine has a special significance as a medicinal drink.<ref name="Ben Burrows">{{cite news |url = https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/hindu-worshippers-drink-cow-urine-3017661 |title = Pictured: A very few Indian Hindu worshippers drink COW URINE to help prevent cancer newspaper |newspaper = [[Daily Mirror]] |author=Ben Burrows |date=13 January 2014 |access-date=27 December 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160106081241/http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/hindu-worshippers-drink-cow-urine-3017661 |archive-date=6 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Nelson>{{cite news |url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4592608/India-makes-cola-from-cow-urine.html |title=India makes cola from cow urine |newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph]] |author=Dean Nelson |date=11 February 2009 |access-date=27 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409084013/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4592608/India-makes-cola-from-cow-urine.html |archive-date=9 April 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> The sprinkling of cow urine is said to have a spiritual cleansing effect as well.<ref name=Sutra>{{cite news |title=Kamadhenu Sutra |url = http://www.outlookindia.com/article/Kamadhenu-Sutra/219290 |access-date=6 January 2015|website=[[Outlook India]]|date=10 March 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106123543/http://www.outlookindia.com/article/Kamadhenu-Sutra/219290|archive-date=6 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Students>{{cite news|title=Teachers "purify" students with cow urine|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-students-urine-idUSSP32758320070423|access-date=6 January 2015|work=[[Reuters]]|date=23 April 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111212070939/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/04/23/us-india-students-urine-idUSSP32758320070423 |archive-date=12 December 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

Cow urine is used for attempted therapeutic purposes in ancient [[Ayurvedic medicine]].<ref name="SahasrabudheMahatme2000">{{cite book|author1=N. H. Sahasrabudhe|author2=R. D. Mahatme|title=Mystic Science of Vastu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQdaR0hZm9oC&pg=PA68|year=2000|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=978-81-207-2206-4|page=68|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323211633/https://books.google.com/books?id=UQdaR0hZm9oC&pg=PA68|archive-date=23 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Sairam2008">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZNtAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT311|title=The Penguin Dictionary of Alternative Medicine|author=T V Sairam|date=16 January 2008|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-93-5118-127-9|page=311|access-date=6 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321210359/https://books.google.com/books?id=YZNtAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT311|archive-date=21 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Urine of a pregnant cow is considered special; it is claimed to contain special hormones and minerals.<ref name="SahasrabudheMahatme2000" />
According to ayurvedas, ''Gomutra'' (cow urine) can cure [[leprosy]], fevers, [[peptic ulcer]]s, [[liver]] ailments, [[kidney]] disorders, [[asthma]], certain allergies, [[psoriasis]], [[anaemia]] and even [[cancer]].<ref name="Sairam2008" /><ref name="Asthma">{{cite news|title=Cow urine aids treatment of cancer, asthma?|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-12/news/32648877_1_cow-urine-organic-farming-panchagavya|access-date=6 January 2015|work=[[The Economic Times]]|date=12 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106112102/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-12/news/32648877_1_cow-urine-organic-farming-panchagavya|archive-date=6 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> One of India's largest Ayurvedic companies, [[Patanjali Ayurved]], sells urine-based products.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/15/asia/india-cow-urine-research/index.html|title=Why India's investigating cow urine|author=Huizhong Wu|website=CNN|date=15 February 2017|access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref>

Cow urine is also used in [[Myanmar]] and [[Nigeria]] as a folk medicine.<ref name=Myanmar>{{cite news|title=An amazing cow's urine therapy practice in Myanmar|publisher=[[University of Toyama]]|hdl=10110/1993}}</ref><ref name=CowUrineonToad>{{cite journal|title=Effects of cow urine concoction and nicotine on the nerve-muscle preparation in common African toad Bufo regularis|journal=Biomedical Research|date=2005|volume=16|issue=3|pages=205–211}}</ref> In Nigeria, a concoction of leaves of [[tobacco]], [[garlic]] and [[lemon basil]] juice, rock salt and cow urine is used in an attempt to treat [[convulsion]]s in children.<ref name=CowUrineonToad/> This has resulted in the death of several children from respiratory depression.<ref name=KwaraWarns>{{cite news|title=Don't use cow urine to treat infant epilepsy, Kwara warns mothers|url=http://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/nnorth-east/118417-dont-use-cow-urine-to-treat-infant-epilepsy-kwara-warns-mothers.html|access-date=29 March 2015|work=Premium Times|date=2 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402140903/http://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/nnorth-east/118417-dont-use-cow-urine-to-treat-infant-epilepsy-kwara-warns-mothers.html|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== COVID-19 ====
On 14 March 2020, a [[Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha]] hosted a cow urine drinking party with over 200 people in attendance to ward off [[COVID-19]]. This urine drinking party was held weeks after a leader from India's North Eastern state of [[Assam]] told state lawmakers during an assembly that "cow urine and cow dung can be used to treat the [[coronavirus]]. Leaders from [[Bharatiya Janta Party|BJP]] had previously called for the use of cow urine as medicine and a cure for cancer.<ref name="Reuters">{{cite news|last1=Danish|first1=Siddiqui|title=Hindu group offers cow urine in a bid to ward off coronavirus|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-india-cow-urine-pa/hindu-group-offers-cow-urine-in-a-bid-to-ward-off-coronavirus-idUSKBN2110D5|website=Reuters|date=14 March 2020|agency=Reuters|accessdate=7 May 2020}}</ref>

In May 2021, two men in [[Manipur|Manipur, India]] were jailed for stating that cow dung, cow urine and manure were not the cures for COVID-19. They had criticized the BJP on Facebook for recommending cow dung and cow urine and were arrested under India's [[National Security Act (India)|National Security Act]]. They were jailed for 45 days.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Two Men Have Been in Jail for 45 Days for Saying Cow Poop and Piss Can't Cure COVID|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dyv4vq/arrest-cow-poop-piss-covid-hindu-nationalism-modi-india|access-date=2021-07-06|website=www.vice.com|language=en}}</ref>

===As a floor cleaner===
A floor-cleaning fluid called Gaunyle is marketed by an organisation called Holy Cow Foundation.<ref name=Gaunyle>{{cite news|title=Use cow urine to clean offices, says Maneka Gandhi|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Use-cow-urine-to-clean-offices-says-Maneka-Gandhi/articleshow/46682574.cms|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=25 March 2015|access-date=6 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330110157/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Use-cow-urine-to-clean-offices-says-Maneka-Gandhi/articleshow/46682574.cms|archive-date=30 March 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Maneka Gandhi]], [[Ministry of Women and Child Development (India)|Women and Child Development Minister]], has proposed that Gaunyle be used instead of [[2-Phenylphenol|Phenyl]] in government offices.<ref name=ReplaceUrine>{{cite news|title=Cow urine cleaner to replace phenyl in government offices|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/cow-urine-cleaner-to-replace-phenyl-in-government-offices/1/412383.html|access-date=9 May 2015|work=[[India Today]]|date=9 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094217/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/cow-urine-cleaner-to-replace-phenyl-in-government-offices/1/412383.html|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2015, [[Rajendra Singh Rathore]], Medical and Health Minister of [[Rajasthan]], inaugurated a {{INRConvert|40|m}} cow-urine refinery in [[Jalore]].<ref name=Refinery>{{cite news |title=Cow-urine refinery inaugurated at Jalore |url= http://www.deccanherald.com/content/475779/cow-urine-refinery-inaugurated-jalore.html |access-date=9 May 2015|newspaper=[[Deccan Herald]]|date=3 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508022931/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/475779/cow-urine-refinery-inaugurated-jalore.html|archive-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=CowUrineHospital>{{cite news |title = Cow urine to be used to clean Rajasthan government hospitals |url = http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/cow-urine-rajasthan-government-hospitals-maneka-gandhi/1/433666.html |access-date=9 May 2015|work=[[India Today]]|date=5 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508015355/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/cow-urine-rajasthan-government-hospitals-maneka-gandhi/1/433666.html|archive-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The refinery was set up by Parthvimeda Gau Pharma Pvt. Ltd. which produces a floor cleaner called Gocleaner.<ref name=CowUrineHospital/>

===In organic farming===
[[File:Jeewamrut urine storage cans (4950882796).jpg|thumb| 260px| ''Jeevamrutha'' storage cans]]
Gomutra is used as a [[manure]] for production of rice.<ref name=Paddy>{{cite news|title=Farmer cultivates paddy with cow urine, dung |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/farmer-cultivates-paddy-with-cow-urine-dung/article4193671.ece |access-date=6 January 2015 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=13 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227052550/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/farmer-cultivates-paddy-with-cow-urine-dung/article4193671.ece|archive-date=27 December 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Jeevamrutha]]'' is a fertilizer made from a mixture of cow urine, [[cow dung]], [[jaggery]], [[Pulse (legume)|pulse]] flour and [[rhizosphere]] soil.<ref name="SatyanarayanaJohri2012">{{cite book|author1=T. Satyanarayana|author2=Bhavdish Narain Johri|author3=Anil Prakash|title=Microorganisms in Sustainable Agriculture and Biotechnology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMlHHCXVP0EC&pg=PA63|access-date=6 January 2015|date=2 January 2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-007-2214-9|page=63}}</ref>

=== Diesel-cow urine emulsion ===
Cow urine has also been used in various researches for the preparation of emulsified diesel. The results found with such a newly-synthesized emulsion were quite satisfactory for diesel exhaust emissions and engine efficiency.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=jhalani |first1=amit |last2=Sharma |first2=Dilip |last3=Soni |first3=Shyamlal |last4=Sharma |first4=Pushpendra Kumar |last5=Singh |first5=Digambar |title=Feasibility assessment of a newly prepared cow-urine emulsified diesel fuel for CI engine application |journal=Fuel |year=2021 |volume=288 |page=119713 |doi=10.1016/j.fuel.2020.119713 |s2cid=229400709 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Camel urine]]
* [[Alternative cancer treatments]]
* [[Alternative medicine]]
* [[Aqua omnium florum]]
* [[Cattle in religion and mythology]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Cow urine}}

[[Category:Ayurvedic medicaments]]
[[Category:Biopesticides]]
[[Category:Organic fertilizers]]
[[Category:Urine]]

Cow urine - Revision history

UpdateBot at 09:52, 3 May 2022