Scientists at Junagadh Agricultural University find gold in urine of Gir cows

28 June, 2016

The famous Gir cows urinate gold, almost literally. After four years of extensive research, scientists of the Junagadh Agricultural University have (JAU) have found traces of gold in the urine of Gir cows.

After analyzing urine samples of 400 Gir cows at the Food Testing Laboratory of JAU, the scientists found 3 to 10 mg of gold per one litre urine. The gold found in the urine was in the form of water soluble gold salts.

In Focus

The team of researchers, headed by Dr BA Golakia, head of JAU's biotechnology department, used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method to analyze the samples of urine. Dr Golakia said, "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."
According to Golakia, the gold can be extracted from the urine and solidified using chemical process. The researchers also tested urine samples of camels, buffaloes, sheep and goats but they did not find any anti-biotic elements in them.
Golakia said that of the 5,100 compounds found in Gir cow urine, 388 were found to be having immense medicinal properties that can cure many ailments. He was assisted in research by Jaimin, Rajesh Vijay and Shraddha. The team now plans to analyze urine sample of 39 other indigenous cow breeds to know whether their urine contains gold or not.
Gir cow is a specie of cattle originating from the Gir forest region of the state of Gujarat. The Gir cow is known for its milking prowess.
http://www.merinews.com/article/scientists-at-junagadh-agricultural-university-find-gold-in-urine-of-gir-cows/15917477.shtml

Read more at: http://www.merinews.com/article/scientists-at-junagadh-agricultural-university-find-gold-in-urine-of-gir-cows/15917477.shtml&cp