‘Grossly misinterpreted’: Hepatologist challenges IIT-BHU cow urine study results

Hepatologist Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as “The Liver Doc” online, said on Tuesday that he asked Springer Nature to investigate a July 2025 study by researchers from IIT-BHU and BITS Pilani that analyzed cow urine from eight indigenous breeds. In a series of publications on X, Philips said it had asked Springer Nature to investigate the July 2025 paper published in Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology. The study, conducted by researchers from IIT-BHU and BITS Pilani, analyzed urine samples from eight breeds of cows and reported the presence of compounds that could have applications in health, engineering and technology.According to Philips, the project received Rs 31.04 lakh under the Scientific Utilization through Research Augmentation – Primary Products of Indigenous Cows (SUTRA-PIC) programme.Calling the paper a “third-rate publication,” Philips alleged that the researchers had misidentified common lab contaminants as naturally occurring compounds found in cow urine. He claimed the study reported the presence of synthetic chemicals, including a banned pesticide, prescription drugs and toxic substances, which he said should not occur naturally in the samples.“Researchers mistook common laboratory contaminants, such as plastic chemicals and solvents, for natural compounds in cow urine,” he wrote. It further alleged that the authors had made health-related claims about various compounds despite these substances not appearing in their own data.Philips also pointed to inconsistencies between the paper’s text and data tables, poor referencing, a lack of statistical analysis and concerns about the graphics used in the study. According to him, some figures looked suspiciously similar and should be examined more closely. He said he had formally written to Springer Nature’s ethics team and the journal’s editors seeking an investigation into the paper’s scientific integrity.He said Springer Nature’s Research Integrity team had taken notice and would soon begin the investigation.In an earlier post, he wrote: “I have been spending most of my non-clinical hours looking at the Modi government’s published publicly funded studies of cow-based product research being published in pre-clinical journals. I am really disappointed to notice that most of these posts have been poorly peer reviewed. I don’t know how they got past these big names.”Philips is no stranger to controversy. The Ayush ministry recently issued a memorandum seeking action against him for social media posts describing Ayurveda as pseudoscience. The ministry said it had received complaints alleging that his comments were derogatory and defamatory towards Ayush systems of medicine.In response to the move, Philips said it was being targeted for discussing scientific issues. Referring to the memo, he wrote that government officials were trying to shut down his social media presence. Citing Article 51A (h) of the Constitution, he argued that citizens have a duty to develop a scientific temperament and a spirit of inquiry.