Panchagavya or panchakavyam is a mixture used in traditional
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
rituals that is prepared by mixing five ingredients. The three direct constituents are cow
dung,
urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra.
Cel ...
, and
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
; the two derived products are
curd
Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet or any edible acidic substance such as lemon ...
and
ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals.
Description
Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...
. These are mixed in proper ratio and then allowed to ferment. The
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word ''panchagavya'' means "five cow-derivatives". When used in
Ayurvedic
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...
medicine, it is also called cowpathy.
Efficacy
Proponents claim that cow urine therapy is capable of curing several diseases, including certain types of cancer, although these claims have no scientific backing.
In fact, studies concerning ingesting individual components of panchagavya, such as
cow urine
Cow urine or Gomutra is a liquid by-product of metabolism in cows. Cow urine is used as medicine in some places of India, Myanmar, and Nigeria. While cow urine and cow dung have benefits as fertilizers, the proponents' claims about its curing d ...
, have shown no positive benefit, and significant side effects, including convulsion, depressed respiration, and death.
Cow's urine can also be a source of harmful bacteria and infectious diseases, including
leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is a blood infection caused by the bacteria ''Leptospira''. Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild (headaches, muscle pains, and fevers) to severe ( bleeding in the lungs or meningitis). Weil's disease, the acute, severe ...
.
Other applications
Panchgavya is also used as a
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
and
pesticide
Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...
in agricultural operations.
[Dhama K. et al., ''Panchgavya (Cowpathy): An Overview'', International Journal of Cow Science, 2005:vol 1:issue 1]
/ref> Proponents claim that it is a growth promoter in the poultry diet, that it is capable of increasing the growth of plankton for fish feed, and that it increases the production of milk in cows, increases the weight of pigs, and increases the egg laying capacity of poultry. It is sometimes used as a base in cosmetic products.
See also
* List of ineffective cancer treatments
This is a non-exhaustive list of alternative treatments that have been promoted to treat or prevent cancer in humans but which lack scientific and medical evidence of effectiveness. In many cases, there is scientific evidence that the alleged tr ...
* Traditional Knowledge Digital Library
The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is an Indian digital knowledge repository of the traditional knowledge, especially about medicinal plants and formulations used in Indian systems of medicine.
History
Set up in 2001, as a collab ...
* Urine therapy
Urine therapy or urotherapy, (also urinotherapy, Shivambu, uropathy, or auto-urine therapy) in alternative medicine is the application of human urine for medicinal or cosmetic purposes, including drinking of one's own urine and massaging one' ...
References
Panchagavya
{{pseudoscience
Agriculture in India
Animal products
Ayurvedic medicaments
Alternative cancer treatments
Pseudoscience