Colostrum antimicrobial benefits
Colostrum has been shown to have antimicrobial benefits.
Br J Nutr 2000 Nov;84 Suppl 1:S75-80:
Milk immunoglobulins and complement factors.
Korhonen H, Marnila P, Gill HS. Agricultural Research Centre of Finland, Food Research, FIN-31600 Jokioinen, Finland. "The importance of colostrum for the growth and health of newborn offspring is well known. In bovine colostrum, the antibody (immunoglobulin) complement system provides a major antimicrobial effect against a wide range of microbes and confers passive immunity until the calf's own immune system has matured. Bovine serum and lacteal secretions contain three major classes of immunoglobulins: IgG, IgM and IgA. The immunoglobulins are selectively transported from the serum into the mammary gland, as a result of which the first colostrum contains very high concentrations of immunoglobulins (40-200 mg/ml). IgG1 accounts for over 75 % of the immunoglobulins in colostral whey, followed by IgM, IgA and IgG2. All these immunoglobulins decrease within a few days to a total immunoglobulin concentration of 0.7-1.0 mg/ml, with IgG1 representing the major Ig class in milk throughout the lactation period. Together with the antibodies absorbed from colostrum after birth, the complement system plays a crucial role in the passive immunization of the newborn calf. The occurrence of hemolytic or bactericidal complement activity in bovine colostrum and milk has been demonstrated in several studies. This review deals with the characteristics of bovine Igs and the complement system to be exploited as potential ingredients for health-promoting functional foods."
Br J Nutr 2000 Nov;84 Suppl 1:S127-34:
In vivo antimicrobial and antiviral activity of components in bovine milk and colostrum involved in non-specific defense.
van Hooijdonk AC, Kussendrager KD, Steijns JM. DMV International, R&D Center, PO Box 13, 5460 BA Veghel, The Netherlands.
"The in vivo evidence of the antimicrobial and antiviral activity of bovine milk and colostrum derived components are reviewed with special emphasis on lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase. Their mode of action and the rationale for their application in efficacy trials with rodents, farm animals, fish and humans, to give protection against infectious agents, are described. A distinction is made between efficacy obtained by oral and non-oral administration of these non-specific defense factors which can be commercially applied in large quantities due to major achievements in dairy technology. From the in vivo studies one can infer that lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase are very promising, naturally occurring, antimicrobials for use in fish farming, husbandry, oral hygiene and functional foods. Other promising milk-derived compounds include lipids, from which anti-infective degradation products are generated during digestion, and antimicrobial peptides hidden in the casein molecules."
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