Camel urine

Camel urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in camels. Urine from camels has been used in the Arabian Peninsula for medicinal purposes for centuries, being a part of Islamic prophetic medicine.[1]

A camel in Yemen
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History in Islamic prophetic medicine

The Islamic prophet Muhammad is said to have advised some patients with ascites to use it "till their bodies became healthy."[2][1] The hadith also states "Some people of ‘Ukl or ‘Uraina tribe came to Medina and its climate did not suit them ... So the Prophet ordered them to go to the herd of (Milch) camels and to drink their milk and urine (as a medicine). ... So they went as directed and after they became healthy".[2][3]

Islamic scholar, Mohammad Najeeb Qasmi, states that Muhammad did not command the people to drink camel urine but to apply it externally as the actual word of the saying has the word Azmadu which means to apply a layer of something.[4] However, Bachtiar Nasir, an Islamic scholar, advocated for and defended the consumption of camel urine, claiming the mixture of camel urine and milk has medicinal benefits. In response, scientists in Muslim and non-Muslim majority countries rejected those claims, and actually link the consumption of camel urine to the spread of a disease known as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS).[5]

Abu Yusuf, a student of an 8th-century Sunni Muslim theologian and jurist Abu Hanifah, said that there is no harm in using camel urine for medical treatment.[6] However, according to Abū Ḥanīfah, the drinking of camel urine is discouraged.[6]

Usage and effects

In Yemen, it is drunk and is used for treating ailments, though it has been widely denounced.[1] Some salons are said use it as a treatment for hair loss.[1] The camel urine from a virgin camel is priced at twenty dollars per liter, with herders saying that it has curative powers. It is traditionally mixed with milk.[1]

The World Health Organization has said that camels are the source of the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus and has urged people who have "diabetes, renal failure, chronic lung disease, and immunocompromised persons are considered to be at high risk of severe disease from MERS-CoV infection" to avoid contact with camels, drinking raw camel milk or camel urine, or eating meat that has not been properly cooked.[7][8][3][9][10][11] Experimental infections of dromedaries with MERS‐CoV didn't show any evidence of virus in the urine. Therefore, the camel urine is an unlikely source of virus transmission to humans.[12][13]

However, a study published on the NCBI website says that camel urine contains anti-cancerous agents.[14]

See also

References
  1. JB (9 August 2013). "Drinking Camel Urine in Yemen". VICE News.
  2. Muhammad al-Bukhari. "Sahih al-Bukhari - Ablutions (Wudu ')". Sunnah.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. Boyer, Lauren (10 June 2015). "Stop Drinking Camel Urine, World Health Organization Says". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  4. https://archive.org/details/14newenglishbooks/page/n111/mode/2up
  5. Persio, Sofia Lotto (9 January 2018). "An Islamist leader encouraged his Instagram followers to drink camel urine, sparking debate in Indonesia". Newsweek. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  6. Williams, John Alden (1994). The Word of Islam. University of Texas Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-292-79076-6. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  7. "Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Qatar". World Health Organization. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  8. "Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)". www.who.int. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  9. "MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)". Eco Lab. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  10. Tom, Brooks-Pollock (9 June 2015). "Drinking camel urine could give you potentially deadly virus, warns WHO". The Independent. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  11. Parry RL (10 June 2015). "Travel alert after eighth camel flu death". The Times. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  12. Hemida, M. G.; Elmoslemany, A.; Al‐Hizab, F.; Alnaeem, A.; Almathen, F.; Faye, B.; Chu, D. K. W.; Perera, R. a. P. M.; Peiris, M. (2017). "Dromedary Camels and the Transmission of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV)". Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. 64 (2): 344–353. doi:10.1111/tbed.12401. ISSN 1865-1682. PMC 4749478. PMID 26256102.
  13. Adney, Danielle R.; Doremalen, Neeltje van; Brown, Vienna R.; Bushmaker, Trenton; Scott, Dana; Wit, Emmie de; Bowen, Richard A.; Munster, Vincent J. (2014). "Replication and Shedding of MERS-CoV in Upper Respiratory Tract of Inoculated Dromedary Camels - Volume 20, Number 12—December 2014 - Emerging Infectious Diseases journal - CDC". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 20 (12): 1999–2005. doi:10.3201/eid2012.141280. PMC 4257817. PMID 25418529.
  14. "Camel urine components display anti-cancer properties in vitro". NCBI.
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