Cows ghee – boon to human kind

Ghṛta (घृत) is a Sanskrit technical term translating to “ghee” (clarified butter), and is used throughout Ayurvedic literature such as the Caraka-saṃhitā and Suśruta-saṃhitā. It is  known as Ghritam, havish, sarpish and ajya, was used in ancient India as early as 1500 B.C. Rigveda, the oldest collection of Hindu hymns, contains numerous references on ghee, showing its importance in Indian diet. Ghee is a liquid substance obtained from the milk of cows (after process according to traditional preparations). Clarified milk fat or butter fat is known as ghrita. It is prepared by heating butter or cream to just over 100°C to remove water content. Goghrita is the best choice for food and medicinal purposes.

Go-Ghrita has been used for centuries to improve physical and mental health and also in the treatment of various ailments. Its regular use helps to improves health. It is used to heal wounds, burns, chapped lips and mouth ulcers. There are many Ayurvedic medicated ghee containing extract of medicinal herbs and Go Ghrita.

Ghee prepared from different animals, milk has been in use since ages like buffalo, goat, yak etc.. Among all, ghee which is obtained from milk of cow (Cow’s ghee or Go Ghrita) is considered best.

Cow’s Ghee and Buffalo’s Ghee

The composition of ghee, melting behavior, fatty acid content, saturated and unsaturated glycerides, etc. all depends on the species of animal from which the milk is derived. In market, most commonly available ghee is of cow and buffalo milk. The grain size of buffalo ghee is bigger compared to cow ghee, due to higher proportion of high melting triglycerides. The color of cow ghee is golden due to the presence of carotenoids. Cow ghee has more shelf-life compared to buffalo ghee as it has more natural antioxidant compared to buffalo ghee.

Constituent	Buffalo ghee	Cow ghee
Saponifiable constituents
Fat (g 100 g-l)	99.0-99.5	99.0-99.5
Moisture (g 100 g-l)	<0.5	<0.5
Charred casein, salts of copper, iron and other minor components	Trace	Trace
Saturated fat (g 100 g-l)	46	NA
cis-Monoene (g 100 g-l)	29	NA
trans-Monoene (g 100 g-l)	7	NA
Diene (g 100 g-l)	13	NA
Polyene (g 100 g-l)	5	NA
Triglycerides
Short chain (g 100 g-l)	43-49	36-40
Long chain” (g 100 g-l)	54.7	62.4
Trisaturatedb (g 100 g-l)	32-47	32-42
High melting” (g 100 g-l)	6-12	3-7
Unsaturated” (g 100 g-l)	56	54.5
Partial glycerides
Diglycerides (g 100 g-l)	4.5	4.3
Monoglycerides (g 100 g-l)	0.6	0.7
Phospholipids (mg 100 g-l)	42.5	38.0
Unsaponifiable constituents
Total cholesterol (mg 100 g-l)	275.0	330.0
Lanosterol (mg 100 g-l)	8.27	9.32
Lutein (µg g-I )	3.1	4.2
Squalene (µg g-I )	62.4	59.2
Carotene (µg g-I )	0.0	7.2
Vitamin A (µg g-I )	9.5	9.2
Vitamin E (µg g-I )	26.4	30.5
Ubiquinone (µg g-I )	6.5	5.0
Flavour compounds
Total free fatty acids (mg g-I )	5.83-7.58	5.99 -12.29
Headspace carbonyls (µM g-I)	0.027	0.035
Volatile carbonyls (µM g-I)	0.26	0.33
Total carbonyls (µM g-I)	8.64	7.20
Total lactones (µg g-I)	35.4	30.3
Data compiled from Achaya (1997), Bector & Narayanan (1975a), Bindal & Jain (1973c), Ramamurthy & Narayanan (1966, 1975) and Gaba & Jain (1974, 1975, 1976)

Benefits of Go-Ghrit/Cow’s ghee

Go Ghrita increases vision and production of semen. It pacifies the tridosha. It improves retention power/memory and gives a glowing skin. It is a cooling, tasty, heavy, unctuous, Tonic, appetizer, good for digestion, eyes, and intelligence.

• It is good for the brain, eyes and skin.
• It is full of essential nutrients and fatty acids.
• It is antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral anti-aging and anti-oxidant.
• It has cooling effect on the body.
• It detoxifies the body and is good for the skin.
• It increases energy, weight and strength.
• It is easily digested by body compared to other ghee.
• It can stimulate secretion of stomach acids, and thus helping in the digestive process.
• Since it enhance the secretion of biliary lipids, it can help in reducing cholesterol level in intestine and serum.
• It increases the absorbability of vitamins and minerals thus helps to improve overall health.
• It balances all agnis (digestive fires).

Go Ghrita is effective in crossing Blood Brain Barrier due to which is helpful in treating mental disorders. It promotes longevity and reproductive fluid and is good for children and the elderly. Intake of ghee in therapeutic doses increases appetite, and gives relief from abdominal discomfort and constipation. It also reduces the burning sensation and redness of eyes significantly.

Some of the resarches on gou ghruta indicates how much it is useful to us

Who Should not Eat Ghee

• Excess use of ghee should be avoided in patients suffering from cardiac and renal problems. ( appropriate use is actually advised in renal and cardiac diseases by ayurveda)
• Avoid or use very less ghee while suffering from typhoid, digestive impairment, tuberculosis, aamvyadhi, kapharog.
• Ghee increases mucous in the body. So it should not be used while suffering from excessive mucous.
• People who are fat/obese should no eat excess ghee.
• It should not be used by people who don’t exercise.
• According to Ayurveda one should not take honey and ghee mixed in equal proportions.