Gomutra

In religious rituals

In Hinduism, cow urine has a special significance. Sprinkling of cow urine is said to have a spiritual cleansing effect as well.

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. In study from Mandsaur has claimed that it may also benefit cancer patients.

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

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.

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.

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.

As a floor cleaner

A floor-cleaning fluid called Gaunyle is marketed by an organisation called Holy Cow Foundation. Maneka Gandhi, Women and Child Development Minister, has proposed that Gaunyle be used instead of Phenyl in government offices. In May 2015, Rajendra Singh Rathore, Medical and Health Minister of Rajasthan, inaugurated a (US$630,000) cow-urine refinery in Jalore. The refinery was set up by Parthvimeda Gau Pharma Pvt. Ltd. which produces a floor cleaner called Gocleaner.

In organic farming

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

In 2012, College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences in Wayanad district began selling packaged gomutra and Panchagavya. The products were primarily 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.

Scientific studies

Recent studies by Dr BA Golakia, head of biotechnology department,from Junagadh Agricultural University (JAU) discovered Gold in urine of Gir breed of Cow ranging from 3 to 10 mg per liter of urine. A 1975 study on mice found that cow urine causes death in high doses. 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. A 2001 study found prions in detectable amount in the urine of cows suffering from bovine spongiform encephalopathy.