- As per the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, fresh cow urine may contain potentially harmful bacteria and is not safe for human consumption.
Bareilly(U.P.): The ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly, India, which is the country’s top animal research organization, has revealed through its research that fresh cow urine may contain potentially harmful bacteria and is not safe for human consumption.
The study, led by Bhoj Raj Singh along with three PhD students, found that urine samples from healthy cows and bulls contained at least 14 types of harmful bacteria, including Escherichia coli, which is known to cause stomach infections.
The findings of the research have been published on Researchgate, an online research website.
Bhoj Raj Singh, who is in charge of the institute’s epidemiology department, stated that statistical analysis of 73 urine samples from cows, buffaloes, and humans indicated that the antibacterial activity of buffalo urine was superior to that of cows.
The urine of buffaloes was found to be significantly more effective against bacteria such as S Epidermidis and E Rhapontici.
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‘In no case can urine be recommended for human consumption’
As per the article published in TOI Bhuj Raj Singh told that “We collected urine samples of three types of cows — Sahiwal, Tharparkar and Vindavani (cross breed) from local dairy farms — along with samples of buffaloes and humans. Our study, carried out between June and November 2022, concluded that a sizeable proportion of urine samples from apparently healthy individuals carry potentially pathogenic bacteria.
The urine of some individuals, irrespective of sex and breeder species, might be inhibitory to a select group of bacteria but the common belief, that cow urine is antibacterial, can’t be generalised. In no case can urine be recommended for human consumption.”
He added that “some people put forth the contention that distilled urine doesn’t have infectious bacteria.” “We are carrying further research on it,” he said.
Notably, cow urine is widely sold in the Indian market without the food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) trademark by many suppliers. Meanwhile, former director of IVRI, RS Chauhan, told TOI: “I have been researching cow urine for 25 years and we have found that distilled cow urine improves immunity of humans and helps against cancer and Covid. This particular research was not done on distilled urine samples which we recommend people to actually consume.”
( This article was was not created by YD Team and this was first published in TOI, and YD Team has just taken the reference and published here)