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Clm7.5
Colostrum Research
Mostly mechanism / observationalHigh safety
30 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Mostly mechanism / observational
Most Colostrum studies are mechanism or observational rather than RCTs that measure a clinical effect — keep findings provisional.
Most evidence is from high-quality meta-analyses and randomised trials published 2014–2025 with a typical study size of 40 participants.
Based on 30 studies · 3 meta-analyses · 6 RCTs · 6,842 total participants
Confidence
High
What the studies found
2helped· 28 more without graded effect data
By outcome
Gastrointestinal & gut barrierImmunoglobulins support gut barrier integrity and repair · 2-4 weeks
Mostly mechanism / observational10 studies
Immune support & infectionsEnhanced mucosal immunity · 2-4 weeks
4Athletic performance in soccer playersMeta-AnalysisCited 6×2025
This study suggests that a range of dietary supplements, including caffeine, creatine, creatine + sodium bicarbonate, magnesium creatine chelate, carbohydrate + electrolyte, carbohydrate + protein, arginine, beta-alanine, bovine colostrum, Kaempferia parviflora, melatonin, and sodium pyruvate, can improve athletic performance in soccer players.
Luo H et al. · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2025)
Kaempferia parviflora (SMD: 0.46, small) was associated with a significant effect on enhancing muscular strength.
Beta-alanine (SMD: 0.83, moderate), melatonin (SMD: 0.75, moderate), caffeine (SMD: 0.37, small), and creatine (SMD: 0.33, small) were associated with a significant effect on enhancing jump height.
Magnesium creatine chelate (SMD: -3.0, very large), melatonin (SMD: -1.9, large), creatine + sodium bicarbonate (SMD: -1.4, large), and arginine (SMD: -1.2, moderate) were associated with a significant effect on decreasing sprint time.
BC supplementation may be highly beneficial in improving gut permeability in athletes.
Dziewiecka H et al. · Nutrients (2022)
BC supplementation may be highly beneficial in improving gut permeability in athletes.
However, well-designed, placebo-controlled, and randomized studies are needed to evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy and to determine the optimal dose schedules of BC supplementation in high-performance athletes.
7Multiple outcomes including upper respiratory illness prevention, immune system modulation, intestinal permeability reductionSystematic ReviewCited 20×2021
Further studies are mandatory to better understand all factors influencing its activity.
Guberti M et al. · Nutrients (2021)
Bovine colostrum topical application was shown effective on vaginal dryness related symptoms limitation.
Its use as food supplement showed interesting effects preventing upper respiratory illness in sportsmen, modulating immune system response and reducing intestinal permeability in healthy and sick subjects.
Conflicting results were provided in pediatric population and little evidence is available on its use with older adults.
8Exercise-associated gut damage and permeability markersSystematic ReviewCited 16×2022
However, research is needed to clarify if this will contribute to improved athlete gastrointestinal and performance outcomes.
Chantler S et al. · PloS one (2022)
Single strain probiotic strains showed some positive findings, but the results are likely strain, dosage and duration specific.
Bovine colostrum, glutamine, carbohydrate supplementation and maintaining euhydration may reduce exercise-associated endothelial damage and improve gut permeability.
In spite of a large heterogeneity across the selected studies, appropriate inclusion of different nutrition strategies could mitigate the initial phases of gastrointestinal cell disturbances in athletes associated with exercise.
9Clinical benefits of bovine colostrum supplementationSystematic ReviewCited 92×2014
Animal models may help researchers to better understand the mechanisms of bovine colostrum supplementation, the dosage regimens required to obtain clinical benefits, and the optimal methods for testing these effects in humans.
Rathe M et al. · Nutrition reviews (2014)
Many studies used surrogate markers to study the effects of bovine colostrum.
Studies suggesting clinical benefits of colostrum supplementation were generally of poor methodological quality, and results could not be confirmed by other investigators.
Bovine colostrum may provide gastrointestinal and immunological benefits, but further studies are required before recommendations can be made for clinical application.
In this review, we summarize the distribution, structure, and biological function of particular Sia-rich diets, including human milk, bovine milk, red meat, and egg.
Zhang T et al. · Critical reviews in food science and nutrition (2024)
Among them, breast milk, especially colostrum, contains a high concentration of sialylated oligosaccharides.
Numerous reviews have concentrated on the physiological function of Sia as a cellular component of the body and its relationship with the occurrence of diseases.
However, the consumption of Sias through dietary sources exerts significant influence on human health, possibly by modulating the gut microbiota's composition and metabolism.
Here, we overview the current knowledge of lactoferrin and its effects on HPV and other viral infections.
Kaplan M et al. · Nutrients (2024)
One of the viruses that lactoferrin exerts significant antiviral effects on is the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the most prevalent transmitted infection affecting a myriad of people around the world.
Along with HPV, lactoferrin also can inhibit a range of viruses including coronaviruses and hepatitis viruses in the same manner.
Here, we overview the current knowledge of lactoferrin and its effects on HPV and other viral infections.
This review hopes to use the above evidence to make people understand the health role of bovine colostrum as having a human immunomodulatory effect, and at the same time, when seeing the potential value of bovine colostrum in the future, the limitations of its application should also be deeply re-explored, such as lactose intolerance, allergies, etc., to provide effective solutions for the wide application of bovine colostrum.
Duan H et al. · Nutrients (2024)
In addition, the influencing factors affecting the quality of bovine colostrum (immunoglobulin) were reviewed, and it was found that individual differences, environmental factors, and processing methods had a great impact on the quality of BC.
More importantly, the immunomodulatory effects of bovine colostrum in people of all ages were reviewed in detail (with an emphasis on preterm infants and immunocompromised children in neonates) as evidence to support the immunity effects of colostrum in people of all ages.
This review article examines the growth factors concentration in bovine colostrum, their benefits, clinical studies, and molecular mechanisms.
Yalçıntaş YM et al. · Nutrients (2024)
Growth factors contribute to wound healing, muscle and bone development, and supporting growth in children.
Additionally, the molecular mechanisms have been explored, highlighting the growth factors roles in cell proliferation, tissue regeneration, and the regulation of immune responses.
These findings are crucial for understanding the potential health effects of bovine colostrum, ensuring its safe use, and forming a basis for future clinical applications.
This review provides a synopsis of the bioactive components in bovine colostrum, the processing techniques used to produce high-value colostrum-based products, and recent studies utilizing bovine colostrum for veterinary and human health.
Linehan K et al. · Annual review of food science and technology (2023)
Bovine colostrum harbors a diverse array of bioactive components suitable for the development of functional foods, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals with veterinary and human health applications.
Bovine colostrum has a strong safety profile with applications across all age groups for health promotion and the amelioration of a variety of disease states.
Increased worldwide milk production and novel processing technologies have resulted in substantial growth of the market for colostrum-based products.
Nevertheless, dose-response studies would be valuable for determining the minimum efficacious dose, although this is complicated by variability in bioactivity between products, making any dose-response findings applicable only to the specific products used in such studies.
Davison G · Nutrients (2021)
There is stronger evidence for benefit on gut permeability and damage markers and on immune function and illness risk, especially during periods of intensified training.
The balance of available evidence for gut permeability and illness risk is positive, but further research is required to fully determine all mechanisms responsible for these effects.
Early suggestions that supplementation with bovine colostrum products could increase systemic IGF-1 levels are not supported by the balance of available evidence examining a range of doses over both short- and long-term periods.
In this review, we predominantly focused on evidence from human studies on benefits in health and disease.
This review highlights that clear evidence of the prevention of infectious diseases in pre-term infants such as necrotizing enterocolitis, neonatal sepsis or prevention of cancer metastasis is lacking.
This is clearly an area where translational science has to be strengthened, taking the considerable evidence from numerous ex vivo studies on cells and tissues and from animal interventions.
While additional verification of the safety and efficacy of these supplements is still necessary, current evidence suggests that these supplements have potential applications for health promotion and disease prevention among athletes and more diverse populations.
Suzuki K · Nutrients (2021)
Second, the effects of various supplements on immune function are discussed, including antioxidant defense modulators (vitamin C, sulforaphane, taheebo), and inflammation reducers (colostrum and hyperimmunized milk).
Third, how 3-hydroxy-3-methyl butyrate monohydrate (HMB) may offset muscle damage is reviewed.
Fourth and finally, the relationship between exercise, nutrition and COVID-19 infection is briefly mentioned.
Given the robust scientific rationale for using bovine colostrum as a promoter of mucosal healing, further work is needed to define its role in therapy.
Chandwe K et al. · Nutrients (2021)
These disorders include enteropathy due to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), necrotizing enterocolitis, infectious diarrhea, intestinal failure, and damage due to cancer therapy.
In animal models, bovine colostrum benefits NSAID enteropathy, IBD, and intestinal failure.
In human trials, there is substantial evidence of efficacy of bovine colostrum in inflammatory bowel disease and in infectious diarrhea.
20Weight gain after surgeryRCTCited 1×n=40 · small study2024
Colostrum supplement can increase appetite, hemoglobin, serum albumin level and the number of blood lymphocytes more than the control group.
Gouhari F et al. · Injury (2024)
Noticeable benefit
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Likely real
There was a significant difference in weight gain (ß = 0.32, 95 % CI: 0.09-0.54; P = 0.005) within 30 days after operation between the colostrum and control groups in favor of the increase in the colostrum group.
Colostrum supplement can increase appetite, hemoglobin, serum albumin level and the number of blood lymphocytes more than the control group.
It can also accelerate weight gain and physical performance after surgery.