Evidence for complement activation following the oral administration of cow's urine concoction in rats.

Oral administration of cow's urine concoction in rats causes the activation of the third complement component in the serum. The product of this activation has some histame-releasing effects and causes a characteristic acute fall in neutrophil and monocyte counts in the peripheral blood which is reversed within four hours. The importance of these observations to the areas of the world where cow's urine concoction is used for the treatment of childhood convulsion is discussed.