IGF-I, IgA, and IgG responses to bovine colostrum supplementation during training

Abstract

This study examined the effect of bovine colostrum (Dynamic colostrum) supplementation on blood and saliva variables ( study 1) and the absorption of orally administered human recombinant insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I (rhIGF-I) labeled with 123I (123I-rhIGF-I) ( study 2). In study 1, adult male and female athletes were randomly assigned in a double-blind fashion to either an experimental (Dynamic; n = 19) or a control (Placebo; n = 11) group. The former consumed daily 20 g of Dynamic supplement, and the latter 20 g of maltodextrin during a 2-wk training period. After bovine colostrum supplementation, significant increases were noticed in serum IGF-I ( P < 0.01) and saliva IgA ( P < 0.01) in Dynamic compared with Placebo. In study 2, gel electrophoresis was carried out in 12 adult subjects with serum samples taken 60 min after ingestion of123I-rhIGF-I and showed peaks at 0.6 and at 40–90 kDa, with the former inducing 96% and the latter 4% of the total radioactivity. It was concluded that a long-term supplementation of bovine colostrum (Dynamic) increases serum IGF-I and saliva IgA concentration in athletes during training. Absorption data show that ingested 123I-rhIGF-I is fragmented in circulation and that no radioactive IGF-I is eluted at the positions of free, or the IGF, binding proteins, giving no support to the absorption of IGF-I from bovine colostrum.