Identification and characterization of urinary peptides using Q-TOF mass spectrometry in cow

Cow urine has been found to be the most effective secretion of animal origin with innumerable therapeutic values. It has potent antimicrobial activity which may be attributed to the presence of urinary peptides in it. Lack of evidence for the presence of such antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in cow urine lead to the present study. Using a technique of membrane filtration, ion exchange chromatography, acid-urea poly-acrylamide gel electrophoresis (AU-PAGE), reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS), we successfully extracted and characterized cationic peptides from the urine of healthy, normal cycling indigenous cow. We could identify two urinary peptides which were reported to contain antimicrobial properties. These identified peptides were 97 and 99 amino acids long Neutrophil defensin-4 and β-defensin-127 of defensin class. These peptides may be responsible for the innate immunity and serve as an alternative to the conventional antibiotics in the time to come.