GLUTATHIONE
A
POWERFUL ANTIOXIDANT FOUND IN COLOSTRUM
Colostrum is the
most significant food in the world. It was designed by natural to
to protect the newborn. The significance of colostrum and the role
it plays is best illustrated in the typical farm animal. Take the
horse, cow, sheep, goat, cat, dog - unless these and most other animals
receive colostrum in the first day or two of life they have a very
significant chance not surviving. This phenomenon is due to a wonderful
mechanism by which the mother can pass on her complement of antibodies
on to her newborn and is known as passive transmission of immunity.
Because of this significance and the role that colostrum plays in
the newborn some other very important actions or properties associated
with the biological function of colostrum have been over-looked.
One of these
properties is the fact that Colostrum, in addition to all its other
benefits, is a source of a wide range antioxidants.One such antioxidant
- Glutathione - has been described as the "Ultimate Antioxidant".
It is very well documented that glutathione and it's precursors are
present in colostrum in relatively high levels. In this capacity glutathione
and glutathione precursors play an important part in colostrum's role
in overall health.
Glutathione also
referred to, as GSH is a naturally occurring peptide or small protein,
which has a primary function as an antioxidant. Linus Pauling was
a leading advocate of antioxidants and their respective role in prevention
of disease and the promotion of overall good health. Antioxidants
for the most part are naturally occurring compounds that possess the
ability to neutralize unstable "free radicals". Unchecked
these free radicals have been linked, at least in part, as the causative
agents of a number of disease conditions including cancer, heart disease,
stroke, and improper nervous & immune system function. A growing
number of scientific and medical research studies have successfully
shown that that antioxidants can deactivate free radicals and thus
limit the spread of certain disease states. Basically antioxidants
act as free radical scavengers and thus removing them from the body
before they can cause their harmful effects.
Many foods such
as fruits, vegetables, grains, and oils contain vitamins and minerals
that have antioxidant properties. Vitamin A, C & E, carotenoids,
and flavonoids are probably the best known antioxidants. The growing
body of scientific and medical research substantiates the significance
glutathione and other antioxidants play in sustaining health and combating
the disease state.
This mountain
of evidence suggests that by simply increasing one's cellular levels
of glutathione a corresponding increase of overall good health can
be envisioned.
The development
of cancer and disease for the most part is a long and slow process.
One exception are childhood cancers, which are usually attributed
to, inherited defective genes. Cancer cells in adults contain a large
number of mutations acquired over a lifetime's exposure to environmental
carcinogens, toxins, and free radicals. These substances damage the
bodies DNA - the blueprint of life. Antioxidants have been shown to
protect the DNA from excessive damage and help in the synthesis and
repair. In fact the cellular level of glutathione has been described
as predictive factor in determining our life expectancy. Glutathione
regulates the actions of other less effective antioxidants such as
vitamins C & E.
It has been reported
that low levels of cellular glutathione are associated with liver
and immune system malfunction, heart disease, premature aging, and
death.
Further, it has
been reported that glutathione functions in not only detoxification
of toxins but of also neutralizing carcinogens.
Glutathione has
also been described as having potent anti-viral and anti-bacterial
properties. Glutathione has also been shown to have a wide variety
of functions that help boost the immune system. Lymphocytes (T cells
and B cells), so vital in the immune response have been shown to be
dependent on glutathione for proper function. As we age our cellular
levels of glutathione drop and it is these lower levels of glutathione
that have been implicated in diseases associated with aging. Finally,
glutathione has been shown to enhance athletic performance by increasing
muscle strength and weight gain.
As an antioxidant
glutathione helps protect the overall integrity of every cell and
tissue against damage caused by free radicals and disease. Acting
as a scavenger of free radicals glutathione helps to protect us from
pollutants and other disease causing agents. Glutathione is a trimer
composed of three amino acid precursors - glycine, glutamic acid and
cysteine. Though free glutathione is surely of benefit the main benefit
comes from the internalization of it's precursors and subsequent assembly
and action within the cell. In fact a recent investigation involving
piglets it was revealed that intercellular glutathione was most exclusively
from dietary consumption of glutathione precursors.
There are a number
of products available that contain glutathione and it's precursors.
For the most part they are derived from colostrum, milk, and or whey.
They are typically referred to as whey protein isolates. A number
of these are marketing the fact that their respective products are
significantly higher in glutathione and it's precursors.
The fact is that
in relation to New Zealand colostrum (low temperature processed) these
products do not have significantly higher levels of either glutathione,
glutathione precursors or other bioactives present in properly processed
colostrum. In fact it has been recently reported that antioxidant
activity of bovine colostrum is significantly greater as compared
to number of such products, including whey protein hydrosylates. Figure
1 illustrates that lack of any significant difference between a whey
protein isolate glutathione enriched product and a quality produced
colostrum.
Of special significance
are the glutathione precursors Glycine, Glutamic Acid, and Cystine
(2 linked Cysteine molecules) and the relative values found in the
respective products.
Figure 1.
Reported composition
of a commercially available whey protein isolate which is reportedly
enriched with glutathione & it's precursors and a quality processed
New Zealand colostrum product.
Amino Acid Whey
Derived Product NZ Colostrum 20% Ig's
Glycine 20mg/g protein 18.1 mg/g protein
Glutamic Acid 201 126.3
Cystine 24 16.8
Proteins
Lactoalbumin 9.7% 2%
lactoglobulin 59.1% 19%
lactoferrin 0.14% 0.15%
Total Immunoglobulins
24.6 25%
IGF-1 1000ng/g
IGF-2 250ng/g
TGF-B1 150ng/g
TGF-B2 950ng/g
EGF 250ug/100g
Vitamin
A 100 IU/100g
B1 1.5 - 2.0 mg/60g
B2 1.7 - 2.2 mg/60g 1.12 mg/100g
B6 0.03 mg/100mg
B12 13.6 ug/100g
C 2.5 mg/100g
D < .2ug/100g
E 130ug/100g
It is of interest
that the whey protein isolate which is reportedly enriched with glutathione
and it's precusors does not contain a significantly greater amount
of glutathione precursors as compared to the quality colostrum product.
This is also true of other constituents that make up the composition
of the respective products. It is of interest that Cysteine has been
reported to be a rate limiting amino acid for the biosynthesis of
glutathione. The fact that lactoglobulin and lactoalbumin are a rich
source of this essential amino acid and they are found in relatively
high amounts in colostrum should be noted.
Of outmost importance is the simple fact that if there is a substance
that can improve the quality of life then this information should
be available to and shared by everyone. The scientific and medical
evidence generated from producers of whey protein isolate products
is significant. However most if not all their claims based on their
findings can and for the most part have been attributed to the same
claims generated from investigations centering on colostrum.
Further the process
of manufacturing whey protein isolated products for the most part
includes ultrafiltration or microfiltration of raw material in order
to concentrate the various constituents responsible for bioactivity.
Typically this requires that this material is subjected to filtration
through 10,000 molecular weight (Dalton) membrane. Thus many small
molecular weight molecules are removed from solution. These include
many growth factors that are involved with the healing and recovery
process, including growth factors and cytokines which have a wide
variety of biological functions. This is most probably indicated by
the fact the manufactures of whey protein isolates who claim enriched
glutathione levels typically do not include growth factor and cytokine
levels as part of their respective compositional information.
Colostrum is
a magical substance composed of many, many substances that work together
in a synergistic manner in such a way that the overall effect of colostrum
is greater than the individual components. In regard to whey protein
isolated products they have attributed the action to one constituent
- glutathione. This is only part of the answer as many other bioactive
molecules are involved - antibodies, immune factors, growth factors,
cytokines, etc. In reality it is an "Ever Ending Story"
with only part of the answer on how colostrum and in fact it's derivatives,
such as whey protein isolates, actually function and work only partly
known. The wonderful thing is that they actually do work and that
this is backed by scientific and medical evidence.
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