Immunomodulatory effects of Cow urine on dimethoate induced immunotoxicity in avian Lymphocytes

Medicinal role of the cow urine has been known since ancient times in India. It has been used to treat various diseases/disorders related to stomach, kidney, skin etc. It is also reported to have anti-cancer and immunomodulatory properties. Considering the immunosuressive effects of pesticides and immunopotentiating properties of cow urine, the present study evaluated the immunomodulatory properties of cow urine on dimethoate induced immunotoxicity in avian lymphocytes using lymphocyte proliferation assay. Avian lymphocytes showed marked decrease when treated with thousand times dilution of No Observable Effect Level (NOEL/10³) dose of dimethoate while significant increase was observed in cow urine treated cells in case of both B and T cell blastogenesis. When exposed to combination treatments of NOEL/10³ dose of dimethoate and the cow urine, there was a significant increase in both B and T cell blastogenesis as compared with the dimethoate treated cells.