The untold damage to biodiversity may have affected the fragile habitat of the bovine population, but Indian scientists have found that ghee from cows’ milk protects the liver from the harmful impact of cancer-causing agents (carcinogens). This ghee is both a detoxifying agent (removes carcinogens built up in the body) as well as preventive in nature as far as liver cancer is concerned, reveals a study by scientists from the division of animal biochemistry at the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal.
The team, comprising Rita Rani and Vinod K. Kansal, experimented on rats to test whether cows’ milk ghee protects them from liver cancer. They also used soyabean oil, which is known for its anti-cancer properties. The study revealed that cows’ milk ghee performed better than soyabean oil in terms of protection of the liver and mammary glands. “Dietary cows’ milk ghee, relative to soyabean oil, decreased the activities of certain enzymes responsible for activation of carcinogens in liver. The carcinogen detoxification activities of cows’ milk ghee in the liver and mammary glands were significantly higher than that of soyabean oil,” the researchers said.
Two groups of rats were fed soyabean oil or the ghee. The researchers noticed that ghee down-regulated the enzyme activities responsible for carcinogen activation in the liver and up-regulated carcinogen detoxification activities in liver and mammary tissues.