Hepatologist Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as “The Liver Doctor” online, said on Tuesday that he has asked Springer Nature to investigate a July 2025 study conducted by researchers at IIT-BHU and BITS Pilani that analyzed the urine of eight indigenous breeds of cattle. In a series of posts on X, Philips said he had asked Springer Nature to investigate the July 2025 paper published in the journal Applied Biochemistry & Biotechnology. The study, conducted by researchers from IIT-BHU and BITS Pilani, analyzed urine samples of eight dairy cow breeds and reported the presence of compounds that could have applications in healthcare, engineering and technology.According to Philips, the project received a grant of Rs 31.04 million under the Centre’s Science Utilization through Research Enhancement – Quality Products from Indigenous Dairy Cows (SUTRA-PIC) programme.Philips called the paper a “third-rate publication,” claiming the researchers mistook a common laboratory contaminant for a natural compound found in cow urine. He claimed the study reported the presence of synthetic chemicals, including banned pesticides, prescription drugs and toxic substances, which he said should not be naturally present in the samples.“Researchers mistook common laboratory contaminants, such as plastic chemicals and solvents, for natural cow urine compounds,” he wrote. He further claimed that the authors made health-related claims for several compounds even though these substances did not appear in their own data.Philips also pointed to inconsistencies between the paper’s text and data tables, improper citations, a lack of statistical analysis and concerns about the graphs used in the study. According to him, some of the figures looked suspiciously similar and required closer inspection. He said he had formally written to Springer Nature’s ethics team and the journal’s editor, seeking an investigation into the paper’s scientific integrity.He said Springer Nature’s research integrity team was aware of this and would begin an investigation soon.In a previous article, he wrote: “Most of my non-clinical time has been spent on the Modi government’s publicly funded research on cow-based products published in preclinical journals. I was really disappointed to find that most of these publications were not well peer reviewed. I don’t know how they got past such a reputable journal. “Philips is no stranger to controversy. Recently, the Ayush Ministry issued a memorandum seeking action against him for his social media posts describing Ayurveda as a pseudoscience. The ministry said it had received a complaint alleging that his remarks were derogatory and defamatory to the Ayush system of medicine.In response to the move, Philips said he had been targeted for discussing scientific issues. Referring to the memo, he wrote that government officials were trying to shut down his social media. Citing Article 51A(h) of the Constitution, he believed that citizens have the obligation to cultivate scientific literacy and a spirit of inquiry.
