Dried cow dung cakes are used to prepare Agnihotra fire. Cow dung is medicinal. In all ancient cultures, like the native Indians of North and South America, Scandinavians, Asians and Africans, cow dung applications are used for a variety of ailments. In books of AYOUTHVEDA medicine practiced in INDIA, one finds many references to cow dung as a medicinal substance. When we use the words cow dung, we mean dung from the male or female progeny of the Desi cow of Indian  breed only.