Counteracting Effects of Cow Urine on Allethrin Induced Immunotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Chicken Lymphocytes Culture System

Cow urine has been described in ‘Sushrita Samhita’ and ‘Ashtanga Sangraha’ to be the most effective substance/secretion of animal origin with innumerable therapeutic values. Cow urine or gaumutra has a unique place in Ayurveda and is suggested for improving general health. Cow urine has many beneficial properties particularly in the areas of agriculture and therapeutics. Allethrin is a synthetic duplicate of a component of pyrethrum. The purified d-trans-isomer of allethrin is more toxic to insects and is used in controlling crawling insects in homes and restaurants. Present paper reports ameliorating effects of cow urine distillate (CU) against allethrin induced immunotoxicity and oxidative stress in chicken lymphocytes culture employing lymphocyte proliferation assay, cytokine assay and nitric oxide (NO) estimation. Allethrin treated cells displayed immunotoxic effects as observed by decrease in B and T cells proliferation and down regulation in IL-1 and IL-2 levels. In case of combination treatments of allethrin and CU, there was an increase in B and T cells proliferation as compared to only pesticide treated cells. CU treated cells displayed significant increase in both the interleukin levels. Nitric oxide estimation revealed enhanced oxidative stress in allethrin treated cells in comparison to combination treated groups. There was marked increase in apoptotic cells due to allethrin treatment while level of apoptotic cells due to CU treatment was found to be comparable with that of control cells.