Bovine Colostrum: Its Constituents and Uses

Abstract

Colostrum is the milk produced during the first few days after birth and contains high levels of immunoglobulins, antimicrobial peptides, and growth factors. Colostrum is important for supporting the growth, development, and immunologic defence of neonates. Colostrum is naturally packaged in a combination that helps prevent its destruction and maintain bioactivity until it reaches more distal gut regions and enables synergistic responses between protective and reparative agents present within it. Bovine colostrum been used for hundreds of years as a traditional or complementary therapy for a wide variety of ailments and in veterinary practice. Partly due to concerns about the side effects of standard Western medicines, there is interest in the use of natural-based products of which colostrum is a prime example. Numerous preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated therapeutic benefits of bovine colostrum for a wide range of indications, including maintenance of wellbeing, treatment of medical conditions and for animal husbandry. Articles within this Special Issue of Nutrients cover the effects and use bovine colostrum and in this introductory article, we describe the main constituents, quality control and an overview of the use of bovine colostrum in health and disease.

The Use of Bovine Colostrum in Sport and Exercise

“…As noted by Playford and Weiser [ 1 ], some commercial bovine colostrum products also contain other components (e.g., proteins, egg, carbohydrates, vitamins, probiotics, and plant polyphenols) that may have additional biological effects in vivo. There is limited research, however, that has examined the relative contribution of each component and whether they exert additive or synergistic effects with bovine colostrum.…”

“…Bovine colostrum, its uses and potential health benefits are covered in the introductory article of this Special Issue by Playford and Weiser [ 1 ], which builds on previous work in this area [ 2 ]. Briefly, bovine colostrum (early milk) is the initial milk produced by cows, usually obtained within the first 48 h postpartum.…”

“…Briefly, bovine colostrum (early milk) is the initial milk produced by cows, usually obtained within the first 48 h postpartum. Like ‘normal’ milk, it contains a rich source of nutrition, both in terms of macronutrients and micronutrients but is also abundant in bioactive components including immune, growth, and antimicrobial factors [ 1 , 2 ]. For a comprehensive overview of the main constituents of bovine colostrum and the factors that shape its quality, readers are referred to these reviews [ 1 , 2 ].…”

“…Like ‘normal’ milk, it contains a rich source of nutrition, both in terms of macronutrients and micronutrients but is also abundant in bioactive components including immune, growth, and antimicrobial factors [ 1 , 2 ]. For a comprehensive overview of the main constituents of bovine colostrum and the factors that shape its quality, readers are referred to these reviews [ 1 , 2 ]. Briefly, compared to mature dairy milk, bovine colostrum contains around double the total solids, double the fat content, ~5-fold the protein content, and significantly higher content of most of the micronutrients.…”

Pharmacological activities and potential use of bovine colostrum for peptide-based radiopharmaceuticals: A review

“…It is worth noting that the majority of bioactive peptides are originated from caseins, whereas only a few peptides could be obtained from whey proteins (Birkemo et al 2009;Jorgensen et al 2010). Hence, casein is not only considered as an energy source but also as a substance that plays an important role in providing effective treatment of various ailments (Playford and Weiser 2021).…”