Elucidation of biopotentiators in organic based formulation bijamrith from Gir Cow (Bos indicus) excrements and urine using GC-MS

Abstract

Background: Traditional organic formulation bijamrith prepared from fresh urine and dung of cow is an important element in natural farming and extensively applied in modern agriculture practices to improve the soil fertility, control pest and disease in plants. The scientific validation of the biologically active compounds in bijamrith is unexplored. Methods: Bijamrith was prepared from excrements of Gir cow. Since, the volatile low molecular weight organic compounds from cow wastes could be derived from the solvent extract using GC-MS effectively, the compounds were separated by liquid-solvent extraction method using diethyl ether solvent and analyzed by GC-MS. Result: GC-MS analysis revealed the elution of about 40 different compounds in bijamrith formulation. Among them, fatty acid namely 9-octadecenoic acid (Z)-, an ester compound 2,3-dihydroxypropyl occupied higher concentration with peak area of 13.96% at 29.29 minutes of retention time which were reported to possess antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity. The other biologically active compounds eluted were antioxidants, plant growth hormones, nematicidal agents for defense mechanism and improvement of plant health.