Diverse Immune Effects of Bovine Colostrum and Benefits in Human Health and Disease

Abstract

The health benefits of bovine colostrum have extensively been studied, including immune effects mediated by immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, and casein, as well as by certain growth factors. Some of these effects are not directly related to the absorption of proteins from the intestinal tract. The ingestion of BC can modulate the function of subsets of lymphocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells and increase regulatory cytokines such as interleukin 10. In this review, we predominantly focused on evidence from human studies on benefits in health and disease. This review highlights that clear evidence of the prevention of infectious diseases in pre-term infants such as necrotizing enterocolitis, neonatal sepsis or prevention of cancer metastasis is lacking. This is clearly an area where translational science has to be strengthened, taking the considerable evidence from numerous ex vivo studies on cells and tissues and from animal interventions. The review focuses predominantly on human data.

Recent Progress in Applicability of Exercise Immunology and Inflammation Research to Sports Nutrition

“…Intense exercise causes inflammation, immunosuppression, gastrointestinal disorders, and other health problems [7,81,82], and colostrum has been used to prevent the increased intestinal permeability that causes these problems [83,84]. Colostrum contains high-quality proteins necessary for growth and antibodies necessary for infection protection, and it has also been proven to inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines [85,86].…”

The Use of Bovine Colostrum in Medical Practice and Human Health: Current Evidence and Areas Requiring Further Examination

“…This Special Issue of Nutrients , “The Use of Bovine Colostrum in Medical Practice and Human Health” contains five review articles covering various aspects of the potential use of BC, including its main constituents and uses [ 1 ], use in gastrointestinal health and disease [ 2 ], sports nutrition [ 3 ], pediatrics [ 4 ], and immune support [ 5 ]. It also includes a systematic review of its clinical use [ 6 ] and an original research article examining its effects on enteric bacteria [ 7 ].…”

“…It is important to note a major difference between the suckling calf and the neonatal human; unlike the human situation, placental transfer of IgGs does not occur in the cow, meaning that early ingestion of BC to enhance passive immunity in the calf is probably of greater importance than in the human situation, where the baby is already born with circulating immunoglobulins derived from the mother’s blood. If humans ingest BC, the bovine IgGs within the lumen are available to bind pathogens (if the cow donor has been exposed to the antigen) [ 7 ] and may also induce some indirect immunological effects [ 1 , 5 ]. However, bovine IgG probably does not traverse the human gut barrier intact and will therefore not result in active bovine-derived IgGs being present in the recipient’s bloodstream (with the possible exception of premature human infants).…”

“…The article by Ghosh and Iacucci covers the effects of BC on immunity, focusing on human studies [ 5 ]. Athletes are known to be at increased risk of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) for reasons that are not completely understood.…”

“…Athletes are known to be at increased risk of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) for reasons that are not completely understood. Both the Ghosh and Davison articles [ 3 , 5 ] review studies on the use of BC in athletes to reduce incidence and severity of URTIs. Several studies have reported positive results, despite there being no consistent change in ex vivo blood markers of immune modulation.…”