Sports
Dietary Supplement and Colostrum
Description
Bovine colostrum is a type of milk secreted during the first few days
after calving; its importance for the health of calves has been known
for a long time
(1). Colostrum
contains not only nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins,
and minerals, but also bioactive components such as growth factors
and antimicrobial elements (2,3). IGF-l is a major form of the insulin-like
growth factor contained in bovine colostrum and is more potent than
IGF-ll. The concentration of IGF-l in bovine colostrum ranges from
200 ¨C 2000 ¦̀g/l (4), whereas normal milk contains >10 ¦̀g/l (5).
Bovine colostrum is also an extremely rich source of immunoglobulins.
The concentration of immunoglobulin G1 (52-87 g/l), G2 (1.6-2.1 g/l),
M (3.7-6.1 g/l), and A (3.2-6.2 g/l) in bovine colostrum is approximately
100 times greater than in normal milk (6).
Usage
Several athletes have used bovine colostrum supplementation for the
benefit of being healthier during training and in-season competition.
It has also been suggested that the increased IGF-l concentration
in blood and muscle may have positive effects on human tissues during
strenuous training.
Prevalence
There are no data available on the prevalence and incidence of use
by athletes and other consumers.
Chemical Mechanism
Supplementation of bovine colostrum may increase IGF-l concentrations
in blood and muscle and therefore influence human tissues by increasing
protein synthesis. It is also well known that immunoglobulin-A plays
a major role in immunological protection of mucous membranes, resulting
in the possibility that dietary bovine colostrum may activate immunological
defense systems against microbes on the mucous membranes.
Clinical Evidence
Some evidence exists suggesting that bovine colostrum supplementation
in athletes increases serum IGF-l concentrations (7), improves endurance
performance (8), and has positive effects on health (9). This may
have applications in sport training as well as in daily life.
Scientific Research
Scientific research concerning bovine colostrum supplements is limited.
In the study by Mero et al. (1997) male athletes underwent randomized,
experimental training treatments of eight days. The results showed
that serum IGF-l concentrations increased with bovine supplementation.
The similar result was noticed in another study (10) where the supplementation
period in athletes was 14 days. With a longer supplementation of eight
weeks no change was observed in blood IGF-l concentration but maximal
endurance performance was improved (8).
Administration
Bovine colostrum is processed and distributed in various forms including
powder, pastilles, and drink.
Dosage
Dosages of bovine colostrum supplements in scientific studies have
ranged from 25 to 125 ml/day in drink form and 20 to 60 g/day in powder
form. At the same time, daily amounts of IGF-l in the supplements
have ranged from 1.7 to 120 ¦̀g/day.
Contraindications
There are no known contraindications to short-term bovine colostrum
supplementation in athletes.
Precautions/Warnings
There are no known warnings to short-term bovine colostrum supplementation.
Banned/Permitted
Bovine colostrum supplements are not on the banned drug lists of the
International Olympic Committee or any other sports governing bodies.
Legality
Bovine colostrum is considered to be ¡°strong¡± milk, therefore bovine
colostrum is a legal nutritional supplement.
References
Korhonen, H.
Signifigance of colostrum to the health and nutrition of the newborn
calf. Suomen El?inl??k?ri 1978; 84;375.
Donovan, S.M.,
and Odle, J. Growth factors in milk as mediators of infant development.
Annu. Rev. Nutr. 1994; 14;147-167.
Reiter, B. Review
of the progress of dairy science: antimicrobial systems in milk. J.
Dairy Res. 1978; 45;131-147.
Skaar, T.C.,
Vega, J.R., Pyke, S.N., Baumrucker, C.R. Changes in insulin-like growth
factor-binding proteins in bovine mammary secretions associated with
pregnancy and parturition. J. Endocrinol. 1991; 131;127-133.
Collier, R.J.,
Miller, M.A., Hildebrandt, J.R., et al. Factors affecting insulin-like
growth factor l concentration in bovine colostrum. J. Dairy Sci. 1991;
74;2905-2911.
Mach, J.P., and
Pahud, J.J. Secretory IgA, a major immunoglobulin in most bovine external
secretions. J. Immunol. 1971;106; 552-563.
Mero, A., Miikkulainen,
H., Riski, J., et al. Effects of bovine colostrum supplementation
on serum IGF-l, IgG, hormone, and saliva IgA during training. J. Appl.
Physiol. 1997; 83, 4;1144-1151.
Buckley, J.D.,
Abbott, M.J., Martin, S., et al. Effect of an oral bovine colostrum
supplement (intactTM) on running performance. Proceedings of the Australian
Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport, Adelaide 13-16 October,
Sports
Medicine Australia, p.79, 1998.
Mero, A., Tiensuu,
T., Pakkanen, R., et al. Effects of pastilles containing bovine colostrum
on health of athletes. XXVIth FIMS World Congress of Sports Medicine,
Orlando, Florida, USA, May 30-June 3, Program and Abstracts, p. 34,
1998.
Mero, A., K hk
nen, J., Nyk?nen, T., et al. Bovine colostrum supplementation increases
serum IGF-l, IgG, and saliva IgA in athletes during training. Med.
Sci. Sports Exerc. 2000; 32,5;S117.
About the Author
Antti Mero is a professor in Anatomy and Kinesiology. His professional
affiliations include memberships in American College of Sports Medicine
and in the International Society of Bio- mechanics. His main research
area involves human performance, training and nutrition.
? Human Kinetics
Publishers, Inc. A report from the Sport Dietary Supplements Update
database of the www.eSportMed.com web site
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