`Liquid gold' for newborns being tested for other uses
Colostrum, the milklike substance produced by mothers in the first few days after giving birth, provides antibodies, antimicrobial proteins and other vital nutrients to newborns across the mammalian world.
For babies in the fragile first days of life, “it's liquid gold,” said Jennifer Smilowitz, an assistant professor at UC Davis, who studies lactation science.
Several companies are now selling colostrum from cows as a supplement for humans, claiming it can help regulate the immune system, improve digestive health, support skin regeneration, speed recovery after exercise and much more.
Here's what experts said about those claims.
Potential benefits
Much of the research on bovine colostrum, which can be taken as a pill, powder, liquid or an enema, is focused on how it affects gut health.
In a trial involving 160 children with recurrent diarrhea, those who took bovine colostrum supplements had less diarrhea or vomiting after two days than those who took a placebo. There have also been early results that suggest the supplement may be able to reduce abdominal pain in people with colitis and reduce diarrhea in adults with HIV/AIDS and in children with autism.
Experts said it's not entirely clear how exactly the supplement might help with gut issues. Some studies suggest that it can help maintain the integrity of the gastrointestinal system and make the gut less permeable, which might reduce digestive issues in some people. In newborn mammals, colostrum's high levels of antibodies help fight off infection and reduce gut inflammation, and it contains growth factors that are critical for sealing and strengthening the developing intestine, Smilowitz said. But there is no evidence yet to suggest that bovine colostrum supplements would work the same way in adults.
Safety and oversight
To make the supplements, colostrum is collected from cows within three days of giving birth and is then frozen, pasteurized and turned into a powder.
But the heat used in sterilization “can destroy part of the good things that are in the product,” Sangild said, meaning that even if there are beneficial elements in bovine colostrum, they may not end up in supplements. There also aren't standard manufacturing processes for these products. One study of 20 bovine colostrum supplements sold for human use found wide variations in the effects that the supplements had on cells.