19 replies to this topic

[Inesa]

Half a year ago I found an answer to my question what disinfectants do poor people in 3rd World (India, Africa) countries use. It appeared to be cow dung!

Here is a couple of links that me and my friend found online, I'm sure there is more info:

http://shaan.typepad...m-cow-dung.html

http://www.physorg.c...s186731757.html


Now I get it why cows are so sacred animal for Indians...

Actually there is no clear answer to what stuff in cow dung does the disinfecting job. Do you think an ancient disinfectant could become New Age disinfectant being used in large scale?

Regards from Inesa

[Mike Green]

Half a year ago I found an answer to my question what disinfectants do poor people in 3rd World (India, Africa) countries use. It appeared to be cow dung!

Here is a couple of links that me and my friend found online, I'm sure there is more info:

http://shaan.typepad...m-cow-dung.html

http://www.physorg.c...s186731757.html


Now I get it why cows are so sacred animal for Indians...

Actually there is no clear answer to what stuff in cow dung does the disinfecting job. Do you think an ancient disinfectant could become New Age disinfectant being used in large scale?

Regards from Inesa

Hi Inesa,

I had a very close relationship with cow dung at university -chasing cows, collecting faeces, drying and grinding it(aluminium determinations)-after a long day of milling manure- I felt many things-but disinfected wasn't one of them!

I think there is a fair bit of anecdotal info on the web-but nothing concrete that i can find(apart from the dried manure which is pretty hard!)- seems to be based on the cows religious role as ' a cleanser'?
if we were discussing urine as a disinfectant that might be a different matter

I wonder if anyone else will have any ideas on the validity of this- some theories- dung contaminated with urine? bacteriophages(but your link mentions heat treating the dung prior to use)- the abrasive qualities of dry dung-maybe( like primitive brasso!) lignin from undigested vegitation acting as a dispersant for dirt in water?

I'm not sure I am ready to keep a bottle of it under my kitchen sink just yet-but I would be happy to be convinced otherwise

Cow dung disinfectant!!!!!!
I love this forum!

Regards

mike

[Inesa]

Well I'm curious too if anyone has any more scientific info about this. I think more serious info could be found in Indian language, saw some comments from Indian people in this forum, would be great to hear from them.

There are many articles and all claim "scientifically proved that cow dung disinfects", but I have it hard to find any scientific papers..

I copy-paste following from this homepage:http://ayurveda-fory...chive/homa.html :
a) Cow dung contains a substance similar to penicillin, which has a disinfecting effect and reduces bacteria that cause disease. In all ancient cultures cow dung was used to combat a whole series of illnesses its property of reducing radioactive radiation is described in Vedic writings. After the Chernobyl catastrophe (refer to author's article-"Answers from Ayurveda to the problems of Chernobyl-published) a group of scientists experimented in Yugoslavia withAgnihotra and after discovering that there was no longer any sign of radioactivity in the immediate vicinity, following the combustion of the required ingredients in the copper pyramid. In the area bordering the Soviet Union people threatened by radioactive fallout sealed their huts with cow dung and was thus able to protect them from radiation. It is also known that NASA's manned space capsules are coated with a thin layer of cow dung to protect them against radiation.

[Inesa]

By the way Mike,

I made this topic not because I accidentally found something about cows online. I saw a programme in Discovery channel about India, and there were women cleaning houses with cow dung solution and telling that it protects them from diseases. Another programme was an African village where they were building some "houses" where people sleep, from some cow dung mixture and telling it protects from diseases! Then I researched online and found articles about disinfecting power of cow dung but no really scientific research... I'm just curious...

if this topics makes shame for this forum then let me know I'll delete it, no problem (or Simon will delete it )

[Mike Green]

if this topics makes shame for this forum then let me know I'll delete it, no problem (or Simon will delete it )

Inesa

I think its a great topic for this forum-i hope someone can come up with some scientific evidence(i can't!!)

I can't wait until the day I can go into a food factory and see them spreading manure over all of the machinery and cleaning salad in a dung wash!!- and i love recycling!!

Regards

Mike

[Mike Green]

Well I'm curious too if anyone has any more scientific info about this. I think more serious info could be found in Indian language, saw some comments from Indian people in this forum, would be great to hear from them.

There are many articles and all claim "scientifically proved that cow dung disinfects", but I have it hard to find any scientific papers..

I copy-paste following from this homepage:http://ayurveda-fory...chive/homa.html :
a) Cow dung contains a substance similar to penicillin, which has a disinfecting effect and reduces bacteria that cause disease. In all ancient cultures cow dung was used to combat a whole series of illnesses its property of reducing radioactive radiation is described in Vedic writings. After the Chernobyl catastrophe (refer to author's article-"Answers from Ayurveda to the problems of Chernobyl-published) a group of scientists experimented in Yugoslavia withAgnihotra and after discovering that there was no longer any sign of radioactivity in the immediate vicinity, following the combustion of the required ingredients in the copper pyramid. In the area bordering the Soviet Union people threatened by radioactive fallout sealed their huts with cow dung and was thus able to protect them from radiation. It is also known that NASA's manned space capsules are coated with a thin layer of cow dung to protect them against radiation.

Maybe some truth in it then!
mycobacterium vaccae

Mike

[Inesa]

Inesa

I think its a great topic for this forum-i hope someone can come up with some scientific evidence(i can't!!)

I can't wait until the day I can go into a food factory and see them spreading manure over all of the machinery and cleaning salad in a dung wash!!- and i love recycling!!

Regards

Mike

Hi Mike,

manure cleaning in the factory ! would be a sensation and a nice oportunity to get into newspapers and TV!
Don't think this day will come I was thinking more about some eco products based on dried cow dung for cleaning non- product-contact surfaces. Fresh manure maybe could be used for cleaning of food animal areas if it really has a power to kill "harmful bacteria" ...

[Mike Green]

Hi Mike,

manure cleaning in the factory ! would be a sensation and a nice oportunity to get into newspapers and TV!
Don't think this day will come I was thinking more about some eco products based on dried cow dung for cleaning non- product-contact surfaces. Fresh manure maybe could be used for cleaning of food animal areas if it really has a power to kill "harmful bacteria" ...

it certainly seems to control Bacterial Blight in rice as effectively as penicillin(or at least it did in this research in 1986!!)

Cow Dung extract controls RBB

I'm getting quite excited here!!
Mike

[GMO]

What about dung + urine -> ammonia? Pretty effective cleaning agent.

However, having been to India for a month and a half and having had several awful bouts of food poisoning, if it's widely used, it ain't working!

[Inesa]

What about dung + urine -> ammonia? Pretty effective cleaning agent.

However, having been to India for a month and a half and having had several awful bouts of food poisoning, if it's widely used, it ain't working!

Hi GMO,

I think pretty awful outbreaks happens also in well developed countries, having fancy advanced cleaning equipment comparing to India. And I don't think they use cow dung in restaurants in rich areas... can't imagine that...

The idea here is, if a science could combine an ancient knowledge ant some modern scientific knowledge+ equipment, to create something unique... Especially when we're getting more and more concerned about global warming, nature pollution etc.

[GMO]

Hi GMO,

I think pretty awful outbreaks happens also in well developed countries, having fancy advanced cleaning equipment comparing to India. And I don't think they use cow dung in restaurants in rich areas... can't imagine that...

The idea here is, if a science could combine an ancient knowledge ant some modern scientific knowledge+ equipment, to create something unique... Especially when we're getting more and more concerned about global warming, nature pollution etc.

Don't worry, I was only joking! I agree, there are some pretty awful practices here but eating in a restaurant with an open sewer outside was always going to be a tricky environment to keep clean...

[Mike Green]

Don't worry, I was only joking! I agree, there are some pretty awful practices here but eating in a restaurant with an open sewer outside was always going to be a tricky environment to keep clean...

Unless the sewer is running from a cow byre- then you just lean over and dip your food in... no more food poisoning bugs-job done!

Mike

[Charles.C]

Dear All,

Must be time for a (political) cartoon ?!

Perhaps the guy in UK who recently suggested people had never had it so good.

Talking about always being in the dung >>




Rgds / Charles.C

[Inesa]

You guys are funny Mike you have been lucky to work with manure as a student, maybe it gave you some unnatural powers??


Here is an abstract of some research, but I'm not a microbiologist, hard to say if it's relevant to this topic :

http://digital.libra...ndle/2440/56205

Here is a link from a book found in Google books- Phosphorus:

http://books.google....entific&f=false

GMO mentioned about travelling to India. It's very interesting!! Is here a topic in forums where you, guys share about your travelling impressions and experiences about food handling or hygiene in other countries, especially poor countries? Some bad examples or some super good examples would be terrible interesting to read about...

[Charles.C]

Dear Inesa,

I noticed yr first link has an African connection. i saw another link which suggested that the product only works if outputted from certain species of cow, apparently found, so far, in India, Estonia and Africa.

I also noticed this link from yr original posted Estonian page (very wide scoped pictures indeed ) -

http://shaan.typepad...egislation.html

Hopefully no direct / indirect connection.

And, even more worryingly, this second link - http://shaan.typepad...-10-months.html

Yr latest second link took me to a box from google which stated in Danish "restricted viewing".

However the Australians do seem to be coming on board with alternative uses of "cow poo" as they so imaginatively put it -

http://www.abc.net.a...es/s1381331.htm

You may not have noticed it but we recently had a fascinating thread about a very high priced and successful variety of coffee being derived from the output of an Asian based species of wild cat(?) (from memory). Now that would really be something if possible here ! Cafe au Dung perhaps ?

Regarding yr paragraph about questionable travelling experiences, I had a very interesting tour round the edges of Grimsby fishmarket several years back and I am not referring to Grimsby in India

Whatever, thanks for the thread !

Rgds / Charles.C

[Inesa]

Hi Charles,

Baltic states are still in development stage, I think. I don't know much about Estonia, but there are some young and perspective people who will change things in the future, I don't doubt about that (Personally have friends in there, I've met at one international food safety seminar)

The link with "restricted viewing" is because I work for FBI and can reach forbidden information. No not really I think it's because I was logged into my personal Google account when I searched in Google books and probably I'm the only one who can see it... the only explanation I can´come up with...

Thanks to all of you for sharing your opinions and information you found.

Hope to travel to India one day when my 2 small ones grow a little bigger.
Best regards

P.s. I still hope to see some comments here from someone from India.................
p.s. 2 I've done some corrections in this answer, cause I misunderstood Charlie, thought links he put about Estonia were founded in my posts I shall never ever read or write anything just before kids bedtime...

Edited by Inesa, 27 November 2010 - 09:00 PM.

[Mike Green]

You guys are funny Mike you have been lucky to work with manure as a student, maybe it gave you some unnatural powers??

Nope- but I always got a seat to myself on the bus going home!!

Mike

[Mike Green]

You may not have noticed it but we recently had a fascinating thread about a very high priced and successful variety of coffee being derived from the output of an Asian based species of wild cat(?) (from memory). Now that would really be something if possible here ! Cafe au Dung perhaps ?


Rgds / Charles.C

how about mixing the coffee grounds and the dung to make a water filter?

Dung water filter

I never knew dung was so versatile

Mike

[Inesa]

If we talk about water,
I've seen a video on You Tube some time ago, I think this was this one (not sure 100%, no sound in my laptop at the moment):



Cow dung is used for many many things, including tooth paste made of cow dung They say houses covered with cow dung protects from radiation etc.

[shantnu gupta]

Cow dung harbours lot of bacteria and fungi referred to as Coprophilous flora. These microorganisms secrete secondary metabolites some of which have antibiotic like properties.