Study of in-vitro Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activity of Cow Urine from Different Altitudinal and Climatic Region of Nepal

Background: Cow urine has been widely used as therapeutic or additive agents in different parts of Nepal, mainly to treat infections, cuts, burns, etc. Cow urine has been considered as sacred and holy water and used in many rituals and worshipping purposes. Apart from therapeutic and rituals ceremony cow urines are also used in purification and disinfecting the houses.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the in-vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity of cow urine from different altitudes across Nepal.

Materials and Methods: Antioxidant activity of cow urines was carried out by using 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) as free radicals. The antibacterial activity of cow urines was tested by the agar disc diffusion method against Escherichia coli (gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive).

Results: The urine sample from Muktinath (Subalpine region) showed the highest 44.8±0.21% inhibition against DPPH free radicals. The urine samples from Jajarkot and Marpha (Temperate zone) showed 39.70±0.43% and 37.30±0.15% inhibition against DPPH free radicals respectively. The urine samples from Palpa and Shyangja (Subtropical region) showed 30.00±0.24 and 34.4±0.01 percent inhibition of DPPH radicals. The samples from Butwal and Dhangadhi (Tropical region) showed the least percentage inhibition of 23.9±0.08 and 21.12±0.1 respectively. Amongst the entire sample, the subalpine region of cow urine (Muktinath 3710m) made known the highest inhibition zone such as 10.56±0.05mm against S. aureus and 7.46±0.15 against E.coli.

Conclusion: Our study has concluded that cow urines have the antibacterial and antioxidant activities and vary in potency according to altitudinal and climatic differences. Hence cow urine from the subalpine zone has better antibacterial and antioxidant activity than that of lower altitudinal climatic zones.