Colostrum ingredients

Colostrum contains an incredible variety of different ingredients with immunogenic effects. This variety of immune competence is unique to any food.

Of greatest interest are the numerous immune factors. These are bioactive substances which can directly influence immunological processes: antibodies (= immunoglobulins), growth factors, hormones and cytokines. Of course colostrum also contains various vitamins, enzymes and minerals as well as all amino acids. This perfect wholesomeness must be preserved in its natural composition and quality because whole colostrum is far more than the sum of the individual substances. There's in interesting paper on this topic published by Aejin Lee et al. which you can read in the scientific section of the colostrum studies. In the following we would like to briefly introduce you to the most important immune factors.

Antibodies = Immunglobulins

Immunoglobulins are produced as a response of the immune system to the invasion of pathogens. The antibodies can either neutralise these bacteria, viruses, allergens etc. on their own or else they mark them so that other immunocompetent helper cells can eliminate them. Five classes of immunoglobulins can be found in colostrum:

IgG antibodies make up the largest part with approx. 80% of total immunoglobulins. They are responsible for the direct defence against invading bacteria, virus, etc. In our wholesome QuraDea colostrum batches the approximate content of the different species are like this:

Cow colostrum = 20% (6 hrs. colostrum)
Sheep colostrum = 15% (12 hrs. colostrum)
Goar colostrum = 10% (18 hrs. colostrum)

IgA antibodies are second most prominent and protect the mucous membranes in the nose, throat and intestines from bacterial and viral attacks. That's why we strongly recommend to dissolve colostrum in the mouth => see serving recommendations

IgM antibodies serve like the IgG to neutralize foreign microorganisms.

IgD antibodies stimulate the B helper cells of the immune system to form specific antibodies.

IgE antibodies are only present in small amounts and control allergic reactions.

grafische darstellung von wachstumsfaktoren

Growth Factors

Growth factors are messengers that influence cell metabolism by transferring information from one cell to another. They directly affect cell division and the differentiation of stem cells and they can also regulate various intracellular processes. The signals are usually transmitted by the growth factors binding to a specific receptor on the cell membrane. Colostrum contains several growth factors:

EGF = epithelial or epidermal GF repair injured areas of the mucous membrane or the epidermis. They also have an antibacterial effect.

TGF = the group of transforming GF have a multitude of effects on cell division and differentiation of various cell types of almost all organs.

IGF-1 = the insulin-like WF is structurally very similar to insulin. It increases the absorption rate of fatty acids and increases protein synthesis. Almost all cells of the body have receptors for IGF-1 and IGF-2.

Colostrum contains bio-identical hormones

Hormone is an ancient Greek term that can be translated as 'drive'. It refers to the inner secretory glandular substances which 'activate' the organs and the metabolism. Colostrum contains many male and female sexual hormones. They are synthesized from cholesterol (see graph on the left) and are lipophilic; i.e. they stick to the fat membrane. Therefore only whole colostrum is rich in these hormones.

All mammals have the same sexual hormones

Humans have the same sexual hormones as dolphins or elephants! Or like the cows, goats and sheep from which QuraDea colostrum comes from. We can absorb these bioactive substances directly through the mucousa in our mouth and small intestine. The hormone analysis of various QuraDea colostrum samples showed the following average content:

Data in nanogram per gram powder

Hormones	Cow	Goat	Sheep
Pregnenolone	31.73	12.63	5.07
Progesterone	0.63	0.18	0.31
Androstendione	1.86	0.15	n.b.
Testosterone	0.07	n.b.	n.b.
Epi-testosterone	0.50	0.32	0.22
Estrone (E1)	15.83	171.83	30.70
Estradiol-17beta (E2)	5.53	8.50	2.80

Hormones belong to the immune factors

Hormones are part of the immune factors as well. They have a considerable influence on our metabolism in general and on our well-being in particular. If you would like to learn more about hormones the two books by Elisabeth Buchner (written in German) are highly recommended - see webshop. Further informations about bioidentical hormones are available online at: www.hormonselbsthilfe.de

Lactoferrin

Lactoferrin (LF) is a iron-binding glycoprotein found in many body fluids and in white blood cells. The biological activities of LF include anti-infective, anti-oxidant, proliferative and immune-modulatory actions. LF also has strong antiviral and antimicrobial properties. Furthermore LF increases the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells and influences the immune functions such as cytokine production, activation of macrophages and natural killer cells.

Other Immune Factors

Cytokines are proteins, peptides or glycoproteins secreted by specific cells of the immune system. Colostrum contains numerous cytokines with various immunogenic properties: their anti-inflammatory activity can regulate the immune system and its production of antibodies. They act together with other components of colostrum such as antibodies, lactoferrin etc.

Proline-rich Polypeptides (PRP) consists of several peptides that contain high portions of the amino acid proline. PRP derives from the proteolysis of the ß-casein in colostrum. PRP regulates the secretion of cytokines affecting both inflammatory and immune response. It can both stimulate a weakened immune system and calm down an allergic overreaction. PRP plays an anit-oxidant role as well by reducing levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). All in all PRP has powerful immunomodulatory properties.

Glycoproteins are active ingredients that contribute to the effectiveness of the immune factors by protecting them from enzymatic breakdown in acidic stomach conditions. Basically colostrum contains many sugars in addition to lactose which is the main one. The soluble sugars of colostrum prevent the binding of bacteria and viruses to the intestinal cells.

Oligosaccharides are short-chain sugar compounds that are not digested and serve as food for the bifidus bacteria in the colon. Colostrum contains about 40 different oligosaccharides which, thanks to their 'bifidogenic' properties, have a very positive influence on the microbiota of the intestine. You can read more about this very interesting topic on the webpage about the microbiome.