Cow Colostrum Could Help COVID-19 Patients Recover More Quickly

People have been testing ways to improve our immune systems to fight against diseases and sickness since the beginning of time. One approach used for thousands of years, is the use of bovine colostrum as a therapy.

Scientists of today are able to substantiate the effectiveness of various therapies, and COVID-19 provided one of many opportunities for further research.

“This study concluded that cow colostrum food supplement may be beneficial in COVID-19 patients for early recovery in mild, moderate and severe categories.”

— Swati Khartode

Colostrum is a natural, nutrient-dense defence containing beneficial compounds including insulin-like growth factor I and II (IGF-I and IGF-II), lactoferrin, lysozyme, lacto peroxidase, and immuno-globulins.

Immunoglobulins in cow colostrum have been shown to help with a variety of illnesses, including repeat infections.

In a 2020 randomised, controlled trial study of 200 COVID patients showed there was a significant difference in days for recovery, between the test group and the control group.

The diagram demonstrates the dramatic difference in recovery days between the study group (red) and the test subjects (blue).

Key takeaways from a number of studies on colostrum to support healing include:

Colostrum has ingredients designed to fight infections in new-borns, and fight viral and bacterial infection. The same components can also be beneficial to people of all ages.
Colostrum has a major protein group called secretory IgA which is included in the first line of defence in protecting infections in the throat and respiratory tract(1).
Colostrum is one of the richest natural sources of antimicrobial components such as Lactoferrin (2) and lysozyme. These are reported to help fight off bacterial and viral infection.
Laboratory studies show the antimicrobial effect of colostrum against 19 of the most common human pathogens (3).

Respiratory Infection Support

Bovine colostrum is reported as a rich source of anti-infection proteins such as immunoglobulin G(igG), secretory immunoglobulin A, lactoferrin and lysozyme.

As a result, there are a number of studies that have been undertaken on the benefits of taking colostrum against respiratory illness.

““It was recently proposed that bovine colostrum provides passive protection against URTI (upper respiratory tract infection ) and the symptoms of flu infection in adult human ...””

— (2)

Mantis, N. J., Rol, N., & Corthésy, B. (2011). Secretory IgA's complex roles in immunity and mucosal homeostasis in the gut. Mucosal immunology, 4(6), 603–611. https://doi.org/10.1038/mi.2011.41
Khartode, Swati. (2021). early-recovery-of-covid19-patients-by-using-immunoglobulins-present-in-cow-colostrum-food-supplementa-clinical-study. Journal of Research in Medical and Dental Science. 9. 186-198. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352330496_early-recovery-of-covid19-patients-by-using-immunoglobulins-present-in-cow-colostrum-food-supplementa-clinical-study
Uchida K, Hiruta N, Yamaguchi H, Yamashita K, Fujimura K, Yasui H. Augmentation of cellular immunity and protection against influenza virus infection by bovine late colostrum in mice. Nutrition2012 Apr;28(4):442-6.PMID: 24774068.
Brinkworth, G. D., & Buckley, J. D. (2003). Concentrated bovine colostrum protein supplementation reduces the incidence of self-reported symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection in adult males. European journal of nutrition, 42(4), 228–232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-003-0410-x