Asian Journal
Of Traditional Medicines

Abstract: The sacred Indian cow, Bos indicus known as “Kamadhenu” in Indian scripts, is believed to be a “mobile hospital” for the treatment of many diseases. Ancient Ayurvedic scriptures such as Charaka samhita, Shushruta samhita and Brahad-Wagbhatt mention various medicinal properties of cow urine. It is used as an insecticide and in disorders like intestinal gas, acidity and cough. Although Indian Ayurvedic literature cites many medicinal properties of cow urine, there is no scientific evidence to support this. Hence, the present study of the antidiabetic activity of cow urine was undertaken. The effect of a distillate of cow urine was studied in vivo in rats given streptozotocin. Diabetes was induced by administration of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg body wt., i.p) dissolved in citrate buffer (0.1 M, pH 4.5). The antidiabetic effect of the (three different doses) and a standard drug, Glibenclamide (0.25 mg/kg, p.o) ,was studied in these diabetic rats. The parameters used in the study included assessment of fasting blood glucose levels, serum lipid profiles, liver glycogen levels and initial and final changes in body weight. The cow urine distillate produced a significant (P<0.05) reduction of the elevated blood glucose, serum cholesterol and serum triglycerides levels when compared with the diabetic control. The diabetic animals treated with cow urine distillate also showed a significant increase in HDL levels and a gain in body weight when compared with the diabetic control. Earlier studies have revealed the presence of antioxidants and free radical scavengers in cow urine which might be responsible for the observed anti- diabetic effects.

Key words: antidiabetes, cow urine distillate, streptozotocin, glibenclamide.