See the letter "Sir,
I would like to provide my views regarding the queries raised on the article titled “A study on Tailabindupariksha: An ancient Ayurvedic method of urine examination as a diagnostic and prognostic tool,” published in AYU, Vol.32, Jan-March 2011.[1]
The study performed is a preliminary study involving only 30 patients and was aimed at observing the characteristic shapes that the oil drop attains in various disease conditions and to correlate the same with the classic Ayurvedic literature. As there are limitations involved with most of the studies, in our case we have limited ourselves to note only the different patterns attained by the oil drop in the urine of different individuals suffering from various curable and incurable diseases, and did not correlate the same with any of the parameters of the modern urine analysis.
Comparing the said test with the modern pathological urine examination can be taken up as a separate research topic and be evaluated at specialized centers. The test is cheaper than any other serological test, as only a single drop of oil is used.
This test does not require much expertise, because no specialized equipment is required and it can be done with the regular household items like glass bowl and dropper. But care must be taken while collecting urine in the fresh and neat bowl and while dropping the oil drop adequate distance has to be maintained, and the bowl should not be disturbed.