Antimicrobial Activity of Cow Urine Distillate; Gow-Ark Against 3
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Research Article International Ayurvedic Medical Journal ISSN:2320 5091 ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF COW URINE DISTILLATE; GOW-ARK AGAINST 3 PERIODONTAL PATHOGENS-AN IN-VITRO STUDY Maji Shankar Shrinidhi1, Bardvalli Gururaj Soumya2, Dana Kishan Suchit3, TP ShivKumar4 1Master of Dental Surgery in Periodontology and Implantology, Professor and Head of the De- partment, 2Master of Dental Surgery in Periodontology and Implantology, Reader/Professor, 3Postgraduate Student, Periodontology and Implantology, 4Senior Lecturer, Periodontolog and Implantology, Sharavathi Dental College and Hospital, Shimoga ABSTRACT Cow Urine Distillate (CUD) has been a well-established alternate treatment modality in the field of Ayurveda for a while now, with decades of research evidence. There is evidence to suggest its antimicrobial activity against some clinical pathogen. This in-vitro study aims to ex- plore the antimicrobial activity of CUD against a few oral pathogens, specifically periodontal pathogens namely, aggregatibacter actenomycetemcomitans (Aa), porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) and prevotella intermedia (Pi). These are organisms that are present in plaque (a soft but tenacious substance that accumulates on our teeth every day) and can cause periodontitis. The in- vitro study attempted to determine the minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of CUD as against chlorhexidine which is an established gold standard in oral antimicrobial agents and is routinely used in pre-procedural rinsing, routine oral hygiene regimens, post-operative maintenance regimes etc. The distillate was satisfactorily effective against Pg and Pi but showed little or no antimicrobial activity against Aa. If CUD is to be even considered a potential antimi- crobial agent for oral hygiene, a full battery of animal models, clinical trials and ethical issues need to be addressed. Keywords: cow urine distillate, periodontal pathogens, antimicrobial agent, complementary medicine, alternate therapy. INTRODUCTION beliefs, natural products and indigenous Complementary, Traditional and Al- concepts.1 ternative Medicine are fast becoming popu- It is documented that a quarter of the lar not only in Asia but on a global scale. populations who forego conventional care They are set of loosely clustered disciplines opt for alternative forms of healing in the that can range from Ayurveda, Unani to Ko- US.2 Ayurveda are one such discipline. rean and Irani medicine etc. to name just a Even though Ayurveda has been irrevoca- few. It is built on the premise of religious bly commercialized in the current scenario, How to cite this URL: Bardvalli Gururaj Soumya Et Al: Antimicrobial Activity Of Cow Urine Distillate; Gow-Ark Against 3 Periodontal Pathogens-An In-Vitro Study. International Ayurvedic medical Journal {online} 2016 {cited 2016 July} Available from: http://www.iamj.in/posts/images/upload/1204_1217.pdf Bardvalli Gururaj Soumya Et Al: Antimicrobial Activity Of Cow Urine Distillate; Gow-Ark Against 3 Periodontal Pathogens-An In-Vitro Study its origins were nobler to begin with than curd & ghee has been extensively used in we are aware of.3 The popularity probably Ayurveda to boost immunity, to enhance the lies in the fact that “Ayurveda does not treat spirit and to nurture the sick back to health. the disease, it treats the individual who has Cow urine, popularly known as Gowmutra the disease.”4 is well known for its anti-ageing, anti- There may be many reasons why glycemic and weight loss benefits.7 complementary/alternative medicine may A highly purified and impeccably distilled have come to the forefront. It begins to form of cow urine (CUD) has been patented make more sense if we begin to look at the for its anti-fungal8 and antibacterial effect shift in treatment beliefs towards holistic by the Council of Scientific and Industrial health, where disease is multifactorial and Research, one of India’s largest Research involves the whole person, or the use of and Development organizations. China has CAM could be associated with beliefs that granted the distillate a patent as a DNA pro- natural remedies are safer and more effec- tector. The distillate of cow urine (CUD) tive than prescription medications. It is also has been used to treat various skin diseas- possible that CAM users prefer an active or es.It has also been used to treat hypergly- collaborative role in treatment decision mak- cemia. The CUD has profound antioxidant ing when compared to conventional medi- and antibacterial effects.7,8 cine users 5. Antibiotic resistance may not That explains its significant presence have directly contributed the apparent rise of in anti-cancer therapy too. It has been pa- alternative therapies, but it is an established tented for its property of enhancing and fa- reality and rising threat to the success of cilitating the activity and availability of bio- conventional medicine. 6 active molecules including anti-infective and “dhenunaamasmi kamadhuk” - Bhagawad anticancer agents (US Patent no: 6410 Geetha Chapter 10 059/2002).9 Distillation is the process of Lord Krishna says – Amongst the cows, I heating a liquid until it boils, then condens- am Kama Dhenu – the proverbial cow that ing and collecting the resultant hot vapors. fulfills your wishes. Mankind has applied the principles of distil- The cow or “bos indicus” as it is sci- lation for thousands of years.10 Likewise, entifically christened, holds a sacred place in fresh cow urine is obtained and contained in the hearts and religious psyches of Hindus in an earthen pot. It is heated and the vapor India. Its virtues have been extolled next on- arising from the pot is collected in a tube. ly to Gods in the sacred Hindu texts of the The pot after a critical point is cooled for the yore. Vishnu Smriti, Atharva Veda, Charaka vapor to condense. The water under the pot Samhita are but a few of such examples. It is is changed at appropriate intervals to keep safe to say that, there are no ancient Indian the pot cool and collect condensed vapor. scriptures which do not speak about the cow The tube is transparent. Thus collected cow or its products. The Panchagavya is an urine is vastly dissimilar to fresh undistilled amalgamation of various products from the cow urine, in that it is not offensive to smell cow. It consists of cow urine, dung, milk, 1205 www.iamj.in IAMJ: Volume 4; Issue 07; July- 2016 Bardvalli Gururaj Soumya Et Al: Antimicrobial Activity Of Cow Urine Distillate; Gow-Ark Against 3 Periodontal Pathogens-An In-Vitro Study and not all components are present, some get er, till date there is no documented data on left behind in the residue.11 the efficacy of CUD against periodontal This distillate as mentioned a while pathogens. The present study was planned to earlier has a number of medicinal properties address the possibility that CUD could be and uses. Two in particular, antimicrobial used as an adjunctive periodontal therapy. and anti-oxidant properties have come into But first we need to determine its efficacy sharp focus as of late. against known periodontal pathogens. Studies on Antibacterial effects of Aims and objectives: CUD have revealed it to be toxic to and in- The aims and objectives of the present study hibitive to growth of Staphylococcus aureus, were E.coli, Pseudomonas, Bacillus Subtilis, Pro- 1) To determine the antimicrobial activity teus Vulgaris, Steptococcus species, of CUD on Aa, Pg, and Pi. Klebsiella pneumonia and Salmonella typhi 2) To compare the antimicrobial profile of in culture. Antifungal activity on Aspegillus CUD with the gold standard 0.2% CHX species was also observed. 12 3) To determine the MIC of CUD against Despite the fact that periodontitis is the Periodontal pathogens multifactorial, by definition it is still an in- 4) To evaluate the inhibitory effect of CUD fection of the periodontal tissues caused by on cultures of Aa, Pg, Pi pathogenic microflora like aggregatibacter 5) To evaluate the time dependent growth actenomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas kill curve of CUD verses CHX gingivalis and prevotella intermedia for in- MATERIAL AND METHODS: stance. These are often referred to as prima- The present in-vitro study was car- ry periodontal pathogens. These organisms ried out after obtaining clearance from Ethi- evade the host response in a number of ways cal Clearance Committee of Sharavathi Den- and invade the tissue to cause attachment tal College and Hospital, Shimoga. For the loss. One amongst the various therapeutic purpose of this study, stock cultures of ag- modalities for periodontitis is antimicrobial gregatibacter actenomycetemcomitans therapy - in local or systemic form. However (ATCC no :- 43718, porphymonas gingivalis fear of development of antibiotic resistance (ATCC No – 33277, 53978) prevotella in- or adverse effects from antibiotics has paved termedia (ATCC No :- 25611) were ob- way for research and development of novel tained from the Department of Microbiology biological drugs. Nathaji Rao G Halgekar’s Institute of Dental To that effect, Cow Urine Distillate Sciences and Research Center, Belgaum. becomes a legitimate candidate, it is an al- Purified form of Cow Urine Distillate by the ternative form of therapy, has proven anti- trade name Go Ark, and 0.2% Chlorhexidine microbial properties against various organ- mouthrinse was used for the present study. isms like Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli, Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) Pseudomonas, Bacillus Subtilis, Proteus procedure: Vulgaris, Streptococcus species, Klebsiella 1. 9 dilutions of each drug were done with pneumonia and Salmonella typhi.12 Howev- brain-heart infusion (BHI) for MIC. 1206 www.iamj.in IAMJ: Volume 4; Issue 07; July- 2016 Bardvalli Gururaj Soumya Et Al: Antimicrobial Activity Of Cow Urine Distillate; Gow-Ark Against 3 Periodontal Pathogens-An In-Vitro Study 2. In the initial tube 20microliter of drug b) Reduced number of colonies – indicates was added into the 380microliter of BHI a partial or slow bactericidal activity broth. c) No growth – if the whole inoculum has 3. For dilutions 200microliter of BHI broth been killed was added into the next 9 tubes separate- Agar diffusion procedure: ly.