Potential Benefits of Colostrum for Your Gastrointestinal Health: What Do Research Suggest?

Colostrum is the specific first milk of mammalian newborns. It is rich in immunoglobulins, antimicrobial peptides (eg, lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase), growth factors, macronutrients and micronutrients. Recent studies suggest that biologically active components, including peptides, that are present in bovine colostrum(BC) might be useful for the treatment of diverse gastrointestinal conditions, e.g., inflammatory bowel disease, gut injury induced by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, and chemotherapy-induced mucositis.Mucositis is the painful inflammation and ulceration of the mucous membranes lining the digestive tract.

In addition, the gastrointestinal tract is constantly under attack from acid, proteolytic enzymes, and substances, such as aspirin or alcohol. Multiple defense mechanism ensure that the mucosa lining of the GI tract remains intact. However, injury to any area of tract lining triggers, within a few minutes, the healing process of restitution whereby surviving cells from the edge of the wound move over the denuded area to re-establish epithelial continuity. Increased proliferation and rebuilding of epithelial cells begins a day or two after the injury. Many factors, including peptide growth factors, stimulate these regeneration and recovery processes. Hence, there is great therapeuric potential of using colostrum, or its individual peptides for gastrointestinal health.

Colostrum supplementation can enhance gut efficiency.Colostral growth factors play a role by keeping the intestinal mucosa sealed and impermeable to toxins to prevent leaky gut syndrome This is evidenced by colostrum’s ability to control chronic diarrhea caused by gut inflammation related to dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is an imbalance between the types of organism present in a person's natural microflora, especially that of the gut, thought to contribute to a range of conditions of ill health.Healing leaky gut syndrome reduces toxic load and helps to reverse many allergic and autoimmune conditions. For the healthy individual or athlete in training, colostrum supplementation enhances the efficiency of amino acid and carbohydrate fuel uptake by the intestine. More nutrients are made available for muscle cells and other vital tissues and organs. This improved nutrient availability boosts energy output.

Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

(NSAIDs) are commonly used for their anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic effects in humans. However, NSAIDs are associated with gastro-intestinal damage because they reduce the mucosal gastric barrier and blood flow, and stimulate apoptosis with a tendency to suffer from inflammation and mucosal ulcerations. Apoptosis refers to the death of cells which occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism's growth or development. NSAIDs can also change the microbiota.

The human microbiota refers to the trillions of cells, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The biggest populations of microbes reside in the gut.The resulting overgrowth of Gram negative and anaerobic bacteria due to NSAIDs causes over secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and bacterial translocation. Bovine colostrum, through its synergistic, biologically active components, such as growth factors can stimulate the healing of ulcers. Other compounds can control inflammatory response and epithelial barrier functions when facing gastrointestinal injuries.

Research based on indomethacin-induced intestinal disease showed thatmice pre-and post-fed with bovine colostrum facilitated the growth of intestinal villi. This outcome suggests preventive and healing effects. Indomethacin is an NSAID that may cause ulcers, bleeding, or holes/perforations in the stomach or intestine. Colostrum-based supplements have been found to reduce gut damage and bacterial translocation inrats caused by the NSAID, diclofenac.

Research involving gastric and intestinal injury in mice showed bovine colostrum reduced the severity of the lesions caused by the administration of indomethacin. Colostrum reduces gastric and intestinal lesions, permeability of the intestinal wall, bacterial translocation and shortening of villi. Research on human subjects showed the administration of BC and indomethacin together reduced gut permeability compared to the control group that only received the anti-inflammatory drug. Also, the combined administration of BC and diclofenac in rats reduced the increase in intestinal permeability, changes of microbiota and villous damage caused by diclofenac. BC may prove to be useful for the prevention and treatment of intestinal ulcerative conditions

Immunodeficiency is a state in which the ability of immune system to fight infections is absent or weakened. Immunodeficient persons are vulnerable to infections. Immunodeficiency are mostly due to viral infections,e.g., HIV in humans, that attack the immune system and reduce the number and the function of immune cells. The intestine is commonly infected, the main symptoms being diarrhoea and progressive weight loss. Diarrhoea in immunodeficient patients can be caused by common pathogens, including viruses, fungi, bacteria and protozoa, in particular Criptosporidium

parvum and Giardia species. Current treatments using antibiotics, antiviral drugs, etc, may cause strong side effects.Studies have suggested that bovine colostrum might improve the clinical conditions of HIV-associated diarrhoea probably due to the synergic action of its biologically active components. Positive results have been obtained by administering colostrum to human patients,e.g., reducing abdominal pain, diarrhoea intensity and fatigue.

Shock induced by injury or surgery can cause bacteria and endotoxins in the intestines to cross the mucosal barrier by translocation and enter the blood and lymphatic system. This can result in a dangerous systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and a multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). In humans, bacterial translocation is prevalent, occurring in approximately 15% of elective surgical patients and is more frequent in abdominal surgery patients, organ donors and intestinal obstruction. These syndromes can also happen in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases and immundeficient persons. Current treatments include antibiotics to counteract infections and bacterial translocation, corticosteroids or NSAIDs to control inflammation, painkillers or other analgesic drugs and diet control.

Colostrum can play a complementary role in preventive treatment in pre-operatory abdominal and coronary arteries surgery. In abdominal surgery it reduced endotoxemia while in coronary bypass surgery it reduced IL-6 and C-reactive protein levels. Interleukin 6 (IL-6), produced at a site of inflammation, is an interleukin that acts as both a pro-inflammatory cytokine and an anti-inflammatory myokine. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein made by the liver. CRP levels in the blood increase when there is a condition causing inflammation somewhere in the body. It is suggested that preoperative treatment with colostrum, together with conventional therapy, may reduce bacterial translocation and endotoxemia to help recovery of both human patients. The synergic activities of components present in colostrum can be useful in the postoperative period to ensure wound healing and the recovery of absorptive functions as well. Components that stimulate wound-healing include nucleotides and growth factors, EgF, TgF and IgF-1 that stimulate skin growth, cellular growth and repair by direct action on DNA and RNA. These growth factors facilitate the healing of tissues damaged by ulcers, trauma, burns, surgery or inflammatory disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) isa group of chronic, inflammatory diseases of the gastro-intestinal tract. Common symptoms of IBD are chronic diarrhoea, vomiting and weight loss associated to microscopic examination of tissue forevidence of inflammation in various portions of GI tract. In humans, Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the principal types of IBD.Several clinical studies suggest a mix of genetic, environmental, immune factors and enteric bacteria play a critical role in the development of the disease. It is suggested that atypical intestinal microbiota induces an incorrect activation of the gut immune system resulting in a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract in genetically predisposed subjects. Intestinal microbiota confer important functions to the host including mucosal barrier, metabolic and immune regulatory functions. Evidence from

recent molecular studies revealed differences in the intestinal microbiome between healthy individuals and IBD patients with a reduction of beneficial and an increase of potentially dangerous bacteria. Current treatment for IBD includes the administration of steroids, immunosuppressive agents and antibiotics with several side effects.

Administration of BC found improved severity of colon inflammation in induced colitis in mice. BC injection resulted in the improvement of clinical signs and tissues data in human patients affected by active colitis compared to control. BC components can possibly balance intestinal microbiota to favour the growth of beneficial bacteria, thus reinforcing the mucosal barrier function, neutralize pathogen agents and reduce the risk of bacterial translocation. Bacterial translocation refers to the invasion of indigenous intestinal bacteria through the gut mucosa to normally sterile tissues and the internal organs. Other compoents in BC can help to modulate immune system cells and consequently the severity of inflammatory response while colostrum can induce epithelial regeneration.