Immune Health from the Farm

This article is part of the main feature: Nutritional Support for Immune Modulation.

Immune support doesn’t just come from the mineral and plant kingdoms; the animal kingdom has ingredients to offer as well. Colostrum, for example, is the first milk produced by mammals for their offspring and works to transfer passive immunity from mother to infant. Bovine colostrum is now used as a dietary ingredient, with properties to stimulate the immune system, delivering growth factors and bioactive substances that can bolster general well-being.⁷⁰ In vitro work suggests ingestion of bovine colostrum can modulate cytokine production by mononuclear cells, stimulating the release of IFN-gamma, IL-10 and IL-2.⁷¹

Clinical trials also have shown promise. Italian researchers investigated whether bovine colostrum had immunomodulatory effects in healthy adults, focusing on Th1 cytokine production.⁷² Supplementation induced production of IL-12 and showed a antigenic-dependent impact on IFN-gamma production: enhanced IFN-gamma in response to weak stimulation and inhibited IFN-gamma after strong stimulation.

Another trial, conducted at The University of Queensland, Australia, researchers randomized 29 trained male cyclists to receive 10 g/d bovine colostrum or a placebo (10 g/d of whey protein concentrate) for five weeks.⁷³ The men’s baseline results in a 40-km time trial were compared to those at study’s end, as well as an additional trial after a five-day period of high-intensity training. Colostrum supplementation suppressed the post-exercise decrease in cytotoxic T cells and sIgG concentrations. Further, there was a trend toward reduced incidence of upper respiratory illness in subjects taking colostrum.

One particular component found in colostrum and isolated commercially from bovine serum is lactoferrin. This glycoprotein has a range of protective abilities, including antimicrobial action and anti-inflammatory effects.⁷⁴ Animal trials have found lactoferrin has the ability to increase levels of monocytes, T cells and cytotoxic T cells,⁷⁵ and to exert anticarcinogenesis effects by enhancing cytokine expression and activating immune cells.⁷⁶ Researchers from Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia, conducted a three-week trial in eight men—one week placebo, next week 100 mg/d lactoferrin, next week 200 mg/d lactoferrin.⁷⁷ Supplementation yielded significant increases in activation of T cells, cytotoxic T cells and helper T cells, and also increased hydrophilic antioxidant capacity.

Dietary Ingredient Solutions went a different route with bovine colostrum, using infusion technology to produce a compound (AiE10®), comprised of the <100 kilo Dalton (kDa) immune-active molecules defensin, granulysin, transfer factors and mini-cytokines. Unpublished trials have shown AiE10 supplementation in healthy adults and those with chronic illness can increase NK cell activity significantly, while increasing general well-being. In one trial, Immune Consultants, Tucson, Ariz., monitored the activity of NK cells, macrophages and TNF activity in 20 participants, 10 of whom received a placebo and 10 of whom took 200 mg of Ai/E10 t.i.d. for 15 days. The study group exhibited a clear “modulated” immune response, elevating key immune markers occurring in concert with each other, which is consistent with observations of the immune system’s ability to recognize and respond.

Berlett Dietary Ingredients also conducted a study on Ai/E10, the results of which were published in the Townsend Letter, Examiner of Alternative Medicine, in December 2006. In this lab study, Ai/E10 was compared to other substances marketed for immune support, including colostrum, maitake, arabinogalactan, lactoferrin and astragalus. The researchers reported all materials demonstrated immune stimulation; however, Ai/E10 also had a strong, reliable capability to increase immune surveillance and transfer immunological information among cell groups.

Also in the bovine area is a specialty bioactive whey protein isolate (as Dermylex™, from Advitech), which appears to have specific benefits in psoriasis, possibly due to the growth factors, immunoglobulins and active peptides it contains.⁷⁸ In one trial out of Canada, researchers administered Dermylex at 2.5 g twice daily to subjects with mild to moderate psoriasis (n=42) for 112 days.⁷⁹ The intervention improved subjects’ psoriasis symptoms with no changes in hepatic or renal parameters, suggesting the safety of the treatment. These findings were similar to those reported in an earlier trial of 84 individuals with mild to moderate psoriasis, in which the intervention improved symptom area and severity.⁸⁰

References on the next page...

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