Komadha products

Arakkonam, Vellore, Tamil Nadu

Dung cakes, made from the by-products of animal husbandry, are traditionally used as fuel in india for making food in a domestic hearth called a chulha. They are made by hand by village women and are traditionally made from cow or buffalo dung. One dung cake of an average size gives 2100 kj worth of energy. Dung cakes are also known as uple, kande, gosse or thepdi. These are the cakes of cow dung molded by bare hands with a curvature to be able to keep stuck to the walls. Once dried they are put in a pile and covered with thatch called bitauda. These bitaudas are visible all over india albeit with different names. The sizes and shapes of the cakes might vary by region. Its also not uncommon to see these cakes directly used in earthen ovens. This bio-fuel has been used for a long time primarily of two reasons 1. For easy disposal of cow dung 2. Easily available and cheap fuel. After burning the residue ash is used to wash hands since it becomes germs free as bi-product of burning and sprinkled also on crops to get rid of certain pests.

In ayurveda, gomutra is claimed to be helpful in the treatment of leprosy and cancer. A mixture of gomutra, triphala, and cow milk is used for the treatment of anaemia. It is also used in the treatment of fever by mixing it with black pepper, yoghurt, and ghee (ghrita). A mixture of gomutra, neem bark, vasaka bark, kurilo bark, kaner leaves. A mixture of gomutra and dharuharidra is used for epilepsy.[1] in study from mandsaur has claimed that it may also benefit cancer patients.[7] cow urine is also used in myanmar and nigeria as a folk medicine.[8][9] in nigeria, a concoction of leaves of , garlic and lemon basil juice, rock salt and cow urine is used to treat convulsions in children.[9] this has resulted in the death of several children from respiratory depression.[10] according to the head of the ayurvedic institute dhanwanthari vaidyasala of thodupuzha, satish namboodiri, it is also used for peptic ulcer, certain type of cancer, liver ailments, and asthma.[11] in 2002, a us patent was issued to a group of indian scientists from council of scientific and industrial research (csir). It was an antibiotic and cow urine distillate mixture. The cow urine was claimed to be serving as a bioenhancer, enhancing anti-microbial activity of antibiotic and antifungal agents.[12][13][14] in 2010, rashtriya swayamsevak sangh-funded go-vigyan anusandhan kendra in deolapar and national environmental engineering research institute (neeri) acquired an us patent on a gomutra-based drug. They claimed that the patent validates that gomutra has anti-cancer properties. The patent was for a gomutra-based mixture that claimed to prevent oxidative damage to dna.[15][16]

Neem is a fast-growing tree that can reach a height of 15–20 metres (49–66 ft), and rarely 35–40 metres (115–131 ft). It is evergreen, but in severe drought it may shed most or nearly all of its leaves. The branches are wide and spreading. The fairly dense crown is roundish and may reach a diameter of 15–20 metres (49–66 ft) in old, free-standing specimens. The neem tree is very similar in appearance to its relative, the chinaberry (melia azedarach). The opposite, pinnate leaves are 20–40 centimetres (7.9–15.7 in) long, with 20 to 31 medium to dark green leaflets about 3–8 centimetres (1.2–3.1 in) long. The terminal leaflet often is missing. The petioles are short. The (white and fragrant) flowers are arranged in more-or-less drooping axillary panicles which are up to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long. The inflorescences, which branch up to the third degree, bear from 150 to 250 flowers. An individual flower is 5–6 millimetres (0.20–0.24 in) long and 8–11 millimetres (0.31–0.43 in) wide. Protandrous, bisexual flowers and male flowers exist on the same individual tree. The fruit is a smooth (glabrous), olive-like drupe which varies in shape from elongate oval to nearly roundish, and when ripe is 1.4–2.8 centimetres (0.55–1.10 in) by 1.0–1.5 centimetres (0.39–0.59 in). The fruit skin (exocarp) is thin and the bitter-sweet pulp (mesocarp) is yellowish-white and very fibrous. The mesocarp is 0.3–0.5 centimetres (0.12–0.20 in) thick. The white, hard inner shell (endocarp) of the fruit encloses one, rarely two, or three, elongated seeds (kernels) having a brown seed coat