Cow urine, which has been touted as a miracle medicine for decades, has now found to be unsuitable for direct human consumption as it contains potentially harmful bacteria. Bhoj Raj Singh of Bareilly-based ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), the country’s premier animal research body, along with three PhD students carried out the research.

The peer-reviewed research found that urine samples from healthy cows and bulls contained at least 14 types of harmful bacteria with the presence of Escherichia coli, which can cause stomach infections, most commonly detected.