DETECTION OF PHYTOCHEMICALS IN COW URINE AND THEIR ROLE AS ANTIMUTAGENS.

Cow urine is used for various ailments by Ayurvedic and Unani pharmacy and also by traditional healers. This study was aimed at carrying out phytochemical analysis and antimutagenic activity of Cow urine. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, protiens, steroids, terpenoids and cardioglycosides. Phenolic flavonoids, phlobatannins, anthrocyanins, anthraquinone, tannins and saponoins were totally absent. Cow urine is an important source of substances claimed to induce antimutagenic effect. Cow urine works as an antimutagenic agent due to the antioxidant property of uric acid and allantoin present in it. Cow urine has been granted U.S. patents (No. 6, 896, 907 and 6, 410, 059) for its medicinal properties and it functioning as an anticarcinogenic agent. Cow urine has been observed to increase the potency of “Taxol” (paclitaxel) against MCF-7, a human breast cancer cell-line in invitro assays (U.S. patent No. 6, 410, 059). Ames test is used for the study of the antimutagenic effect of cow urine when used in combination against sodium azide, 2-nitrofluorine and mitomycin C in absence of metabolic inhibitor (Sq). Combinations of varying concentrations were checked and the percentage of inhibition was determined using the formula: [(a-b)/(a-c)]x100. The combination showed a gradual respective decrease in the number of revertant colonies against tester strains Salmonella typhimurium TA 100, TA 1535, TA 98 and TA 102. The percentage inhibition ranged from 5% to 85%.