Liver specialist and scientist and clinician Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as “The Liver Doctor” on social media, slammed Zoho co-founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu for supporting the director of IIT Madras Professor V Kamakoti who recently highlighted the medicinal benefits of cow. urine (gomutra).

In an ox X post, the Liver Doc slammed the ongoing debate, writing: “Oi you science illiterate boomer uncle, your so called traditional Indian medicine, Siddha also encourages faecal transplants. How long will you continue to put put your foot in your mouth and talk behind your back, misinform your followers and make a fool of yourself?”

“As a man of influence, spread valuable information about how we as a community can progress through science and the scientific method, instead of promoting old nonsense and primal therapies and amplifying misinforming fools like the professor of IIT Madras,” said Liver Doc. highlighting the role of the Zoho CEO in influencing mass opinion.

Vembu defended Kamakoti, stating that those who make fun of cow urine do not understand evolving scientific perspectives. Drawing parallels, he noted the growing interest in fecal transplants and fecal pellets derived from healthy individuals, particularly from pre-industrial societies, as a method of restoring gut bacteria.

“If you really want to know how faecal transplants have the science behind their use, you can read about our work here. We have pioneered this method to save patients dying from severe alcohol-related hepatitis,” added the Liver Doc sharing article links.

Kamakoti, speaking at an event on January 15, claimed that cow urine possesses “antibacterial, antifungal and digestive properties” and can be an effective treatment for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). His statements, however, drew criticism, with some detractors dismissing the claims as pseudoscience and questioning the rationale behind such statements.

“Urine therapy has no such known benefits and there is no science behind the promotion of its use. Educate yourself. And stop with the strawman fallacies,” explained the liver doctor.