NEWS RELEASE
December 6 2002
Colostrum
helps in the fight against cold and flu viruses
A
daily dose of colostrum could reduce the rate of colds and influenza by up
to 30 per cent, a University of South Australia study shows.
The
study revealed that participants who took 60 grams of a powdered bovine
colostrum supplement daily were much less susceptible to getting upper
respiratory tract (URT) infections when compared with those who were given
a placebo (whey protein), according to Dr Jon Buckley, Director of
UniSA’s Centre for Research in Education and Sports Science, who
conducted the research.
“Bovine
colostrum, the first milk that’s secreted by cows after giving birth, is
important for protecting newborn calves against infections. Farmers have
been known to feed colostrum to calves for survival as, unlike humans,
they don’t acquire immunity from their mother,” Dr Buckley said.
“We
know from previous studies that when people have a high level of
particular antibodies in their saliva, it provides a protective effect
against getting upper respiratory tract infections.
“Athletes
as well as people who undertake lots of endurance training tend to be more
susceptible to getting URT infections because they have lower levels of
salivary immunoglobulin A (IGA). There is a relationship between high
salivary IGA and protection against URT infections.
“Taking
colostrum increases the levels of antibodies in saliva in the mouth and
throat, and that seems to protect against illness,” Dr Buckley said.
While
Dr Buckley is not sure how colostrum works, he believes it’s a
non-specific mechanism because people who become infected, even when
taking colostrum, experience the same symptoms and recovery rates as
non-users of colostrum.
“Although
it’s not a cure for colds and flus, the good news is that it gives
greater protection across the broad range of URT infections, and may
provide a useful adjunct to flu shots during the cold and flu season,”
he said.
“Now
that we have evidence that it works, our next step is to pursue funding to
look at how it works by breaking down the colostrum to isolate the
components that provide a protective effect and to discard the rest. This
would enable us to develop a smaller but more effective dose that could
become the wonder drug-free alternative for preventing URT infections and
a number of other health problems,” Dr Buckley said.
Other
research into the health benefits of taking colostrum has resulted in a
reduction in rotavirus in children at day care centres, and protection for
sick children in Adelaide’s Women’s and Children’s hospital against
gastrointestinal viruses. Many of these children have suppressed immune
systems that make them more susceptible to picking up viruses. Anecdotal
evidence also suggests that giving colostrum to people with AIDS protects
them from gastrointestinal viruses, it makes them feel better and they get
sick less often.
“In
sports science, previous research has shown that taking colostrum improves
endurance, exercise performance and increases lean body mass. Our own
research showed faster recovery rates after exercise and improved muscular
power.
“Because
colostrum is having all of these effects on power, body composition,
endurance and recovery, there was some concern that it may result in false
positive drug tests, but samples analysed in an accredited Olympic
Committee drug testing laboratory all came up negative,” Dr Buckley
said.
Dr
Buckley will speak on the benefits of colostrum in the fight against URT
infections at the Australian Society for Immunology conference in Brisbane
on Tuesday, 10 December 2002.
Media
contact: Geraldine Hinter (08) 8302 0963 or 0417 861832
