Throughout history, many medicines originated from traditional knowledge. Aspirin evolved from willow bark, artemisinin from traditional Chinese medicine, and numerous modern drugs have their roots in indigenous medical systems

Priyanka Gandhi’s recent reference to an IIT Director as a “gau mutra expert” has ignited a debate that extends beyond politics. The real question is not whether one personally believes in traditional remedies or not. The question is whether scientific inquiry should be encouraged or ridiculed. Science advances by testing hypotheses, not by mocking them.

Throughout history, many medicines originated from traditional knowledge. Aspirin evolved from willow bark, artemisinin from traditional Chinese medicine, and numerous modern drugs have their roots in indigenous medical systems. The correct scientific approach is to investigate traditional claims objectively, accepting those supported by evidence and rejecting those that fail rigorous testing. For the sake of dispelling ignorance, I must state that more than 70 per cent of chemicals used in modern medicine are phytochemicals, which means originating from plants, and a whole lot of those plants aren’t originally from the Western Hemisphere.

Contrary to claims that there is “no science” behind gomutra, several peer-reviewed studies have investigated cow urine and cow urine distillate. Published research has reported antibacterial activity against certain bacteria, antifungal activity, antioxidant properties, immune-modulating effects, and potential bio-enhancer properties that may improve the effectiveness of some antibiotics in laboratory settings. Most importantly, these findings are primarily laboratory (in vitro) or animal studies, and in India, it has been practised on humans as part of traditional medicine. Therefore, they should be viewed as promising research and further establish the same with precision for medical treatments.

The two patents in the United States of America, which were highlighted by Parliamentarian Sudhanshu Trivedi in the Lok Sabha, very strongly relate to cow urine distillate, involving pharmaceutical compositions using cow urine distillate as a bio-enhancer and use of bioactive fractions of cow urine distillate to enhance antimicrobial and........

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