Table 2 Studies contributing to the health benefits of colostrum (Since 2016 onwards)

Gastrointestinal carriage

Anti-UPEC Hyperimmune Bovine Colostrum (HBC)

De-fatted, concentrated, and freeze dried colostrum (suspended at 10% (w/v) in dH₂O)

Disruption of colonization of ST131 UPEC in the gastrointestinal tract due to therapeutic value of HBC was observed when fed with IgG antibody purified from colostrum using a protein G column (GE Healthcare) as per the manufacturer’s instructions

Larcombe et al. (2019)

Respiratory tract infections (URTI or diarrhea)

Colostrum (liquid form)

6.0 g/day

BC supplementation have the tendency to suppress the inflammation of gut and stimulate mucosal integrity and tissue repair under different conditions related to tissue injury

Saad et al. (2016)

H1N1 (influenza A)

Colostrum (liquid form)

1.0 g per kg body weight

BC dose of 1.0 g per kg body weight showed the increased activity of natural killer cells

Wong et al. (2014)

Gut-barrier malfunction

Colostrum powder

20 g of BC thrice per day for 10 days

Reduction of intestinal permeability and incidence of diarrhea was reported

Eslamian et al. (2019)

Gut-barrier malfunction

Bovine colostrum powder

500 mg of BC twice a day for 20 days

Exhibited decrease of intestinal permeability

Halasa et al. (2017)

Infections (Acute diarrhoea) caused by Rotavirus and E. coli

Bovine colostrum powder

3.0 g of BC diluted in (50 ml of water) per day for 7 days

Displayed decrease in frequency as well as duration of vomiting and diarrhoea

Barakat et al. (2020)

Necrotizing enterocolitis

Bovine colostrum

BC mixed with human milk, 24 to 40 ml/kg/day

Exhibited improvement of gut function, bacterial defense mechanisms, nutrient absorption in comparison to formula-based fortifiers

Sun et al. (2019)

Necrotizing enterocolitis

Bovine colostrum

Reduction of feeding intolerance, NEC, delay-onset sepsis and mortality

Ismail et al. (2021)

Drug-induced lesions

Bovine colostrum (commercial products)

Commercially available bovine colostrum products, 2 mL (7 mg/mL) (orally administration)

Indomethacin damage (20 mg/kg, subcutaneously) was induced 30 min after gavage. Results depicted that there is restoration of gastric mucosa from the supplementation of commercially available BC products in male rats

Playford et al. (2020)

Drug-induced lesions

Spray-dried BC powder (Biofiber-Damino™)

7.5–30.0 g per day (thrice a day)

Decreased the peak severity of oral mucositis

Rathe et al. (2020)

Inflammatory bowel disease (Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease)

Bovine colostrum

100–500 mg/kg/day IMM-124E (colostrum-based product)

100–500 mg/kg/day IMM-124E (colostrum-based product from cows, immunized with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from E. coli) have the ability to decrease the levels of infiltrating immune cells and less pronounced mucosal damage

Increase of regulatory T cells and serum levels of LPS binding protein

Spalinger et al. (2019)

Acute infectious diarrhea

Colostrum powder

3.0 g BC sachet with 50 ml water

Reported to lower the frequency of diarrhea and vomiting

Menchetti et al. (2016); Barakat et al. (2020)

Inflammatory bowel disease

BC powder

BC powder dissolved in saline solution (100 mg in 0.6 ml) for 1 week

Depicted that there was modulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, TLR4 and microbiota

Menchetti et al. (2020)

Helicobacter pylori infection

Lactoferrin derived from BC

200 mg (Pravotin™), taken after 2 h of break-fast and 100 mg after 2 h of dinner for 1 week

Improvement of the eradication rate of H. pylori was observed

Megahed et al. (2017)

Gut-barrier malfunction

BC powder

20 g of BC/ day, 3 times per day, for 10 days, enteral nutrition (ICU Patient)

Decrease of intestinal permeability and occurrence of diarrhea

Eslamian et al. (2019)

TNBS- induced colitis.

Nutra-Summa Pure BC Powder®

100 mg of colostrum dissolved in 0.6 mL of saline solution for 21 days

Enterococci and E.coli count was increased but Bifidobacterium, anaerobes and lactobacilli reduced

Filipescu et al. (2018)

Antimicrobial activity

BC fortifier Powder

2.8 g of BC Fortifier mixed in 100 ml of human milk

The results depicted that the physico-chemical properties were modified along with the prevention of in-vitro bacteria responsible in the neonatal sepsis

Gao et al. (2021)

 Respiratory tract

Bovine colostrum

20 g of BC mixed with 250-300 ml of water and twice a day

Can cut down the decrease in immunity in cases of the athletes performing prolonged exercises

Jones et al. (2019)

 Intestinal permeability

Freeze dried BC

500 mg of BC was given twice a day for 20 days

The test performed was mannitol/lactulose (M/L) test which is differential sugar absorption. The BC collected after 2 & 24 hrs resulted in significant reduction in permeability of the intestine of 31 athletes.

Hałasa et al. (2020)

 Intestinal

BC powder

Supplemented with BC consisting of 35.3 mg IgA, 350 mg IgG & 25.3 mg mixed in 50 ml of water, given for 1 week.

160 children suffering from acute diarrhea were fed and after 48 hr., results of the study revealed that BC supplementation lowered the vomiting and diarrhea frequency and also was effective in the treatment of rotavirus and bacterial (E. coli) related diarrhea

Barakat et al. (2020)

 HIV-related diarrhea

ColoPlus powder

50 g of BC based product possessing 3–4 g of IgG in 50 g, two times a day.

Open-labeled study was conducted on 30 subjects provided with the mentioned dose and Results suggested that products based on BC reduced diarrhea associated with HIV & the daily no. of bowel evacuations and also increased the CD4⁺ cell, hemoglobulin & albumin concentrations.

Florén et al. (2006)

 Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI)

BC capsules

2 capsules of BC (500 mg) for 4 weeks

This supplementation was proved effective in the treatment of URTI nasal swab micro-biome in 27-year-old non-alcoholic, non-smoker patient.

Alsayed et al. (2020)

 Respiratory allergies

BC

1000 mg BC for 3 months

A total of 19 children (7-18 years) suffering from respiratory tract allergies were supplemented with BC and reported with improved the nasal congestion & lungs functioning among the mono-sensitized groups suffering from allergies of respiratory tract.

Oloroso-Chavez et al. (2017)

 Vulvovaginal atrophy

Gel

Applied 5 ml of gel (Monurelle Biogel) for 12 weeks

BC based purified gel given to 172 women suffering from vulvovaginal atrophy. They applied 5 ml of gel for 12 weeks after intercourse or intimate cleaning. The outcomes showed the potential of BC-based gel in the vulvovaginal atrophy treatment, improvement of sexual life.

Schiavi et al. (2019)

 COVID-19 infection

Nutritional syrup

32 mg BC liposomal lactoferrin per 10 ml along with 12 mg of vitamin C and 4–6 doses for 10 days

The outcomes proved that this supplementation was effective in the prevention of COVID-19 infected 75 patients

Serrano et al. (2020)

 NEC

BC concentrate

BC concentrate for 2 weeks

A randomized, double-blinded, placebo study was conducted in 80 preterm neonates supplemented with BC concentrate for 2 weeks. The outcomes showed that the hypo-caloric feeding of BC reduced the risk of NEC, morality and feeding intolerance.

Awad et al. (2020)

 Skin disease

Lyophilized BC

Lyophilized BC (collected within 1 h after parturition) given @ 0.05–0.5% for a period of 24–48 hrs.

The results observed were found beneficial for the treatment of keratinocytes or skin diseases and for the cutaneous dryness among the old age people.

Kovacs et al. (2020)

 Gastrointestinal disorders

Bovine colostrum product

0.3 g twice/day supplementation of BC oligosaccharides with bacteria named Bifidobacterium longum subspecies Infanti for 12 weeks

This dose was given to the children (2–11 years) suffering from the GI symptoms & autism disorders. A reduction in IL-13 and TNF-α production was noticed.

Sanctuary et al. (2019)