Junagadh: A team of researchers at Junagadh Agricultural University (JAU) in Gujarat have struck gold, quite literally. As per their claims, tests have unveiled the presence of gold in the urine of Gir cows – a phenomenon that the researchers said was only heard of in religious scriptures.
According to a report in Times of India, the urine samples of 400 Gir cows was analysed at the Food Testing Laboratory of JAU and it showed traces of gold. The precious metal was found in ionic form, which is gold salts soluble in water. The gold in the urine can be extracted and solidified using chemical processes, the researchers said.
The team of researchers, working under the head of JAU's biotechnology department Dr B A Golakia, used the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method to examine the urine samples.
"Till now, we have heard about presence of gold in cow urine from our ancient scriptures and its medicinal properties. Since there was no detailed scientific analysis to prove this, we decided to undertake a research on cow urine. We analyzed 400 samples of Gir cow urine and found traces of gold," said Golakia.
Besides gold, the team also found 5,100 compounds in Gir cow urine that actually have immense medicinal value and can cure several ailments.
Golakia was assisted by other researchers namely Jaimin, Rajesh Vijay and Shraddha. The team will now analyze urine samples of all 39 indigenous cow breeds of India for the same purpose.
Golakia told the newspaper that the research is now being conducted on the use of Gir cow urine on human and plant pathogen. The experiments are being carried out to use it in treatment of human diseases and plant protections.
