PARTNER FEATURE ▶▶▶
Colostrum – there’s more to it than you think!
Why do newborn animals need colostrum? To ensure passive immunisation through maternal antibodies! This is probably the most common answer, followed by the afterthought that colostrum provides highly digestible energy, which the newborn animal needs for thermoregulation and vitality.
BY SOPHIE-CHARLOTTE WALL, PHYTOBIOTICS FUTTERZUSATZSTOFFE GMBH AND PROFESSOR HANS-JOACHIM SCHUBERTH, UNIVERSITY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE HANNOVER
H
Colostrum con- tains prebiotics such as lacto- oligo saccharides to promote the development of a physiological microbiome.
12 ▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 8, No. 3, 2021
owever, this account does not do justice to the substantial lifelong influence of a high-quality co- lostrum provision. The condition high-quality indi- cates that there is more to it than sheer volume.
Colostrum quality is determined by its concentration of bio- active substances. Often, the importance of colostrum is re- duced to just one compound – the immunoglobulins (Ig’s). Ig’s are said to provide protection from pathogens until the neonate’s immune system is mature enough to produce en- dogenous Ig’s. In reality, colostral Ig’s can be imagined as a protective umbrella, which reduces the pressure on the neo- nate while colostrum unfolds its true value (Figure 1).
Educating the immune system When highlighting passive immunisation, one fact is often
overlooked: the organism at birth is already able to carry out the entire spectrum of immune responses, including anti body production. What the immune system needs in early life is simply a good education, to learn which of the multitude of reactions is fitting for each threat. This educa- tion is termed “programming”. Programming is paramount for efficient immune responses. How can a virus be de- stroyed? How can bacteria be neutralised? Is an inflamma- tory cascade appropriate or should anti-inflammatory mechanisms be induced? If these reactions are mixed up, energy is wasted and, in the worst case, the appropriate reaction might come too late to fend off the pathogen.
The “who’s who” of colostral compounds Immune programming is the primary function of colostrum, which contains a multitude of bioactive compounds for this purpose. These compounds include growth factors like IGF and EGF, enzymes such as lactoferrin and immune factors like lysozyme and cytokines. They work together to programme one of the key immune cell types: the gut epithelial cells. As the first barrier against invading pathogens, epithelial cells have essential signalling and effector functions to mediate suitable immune reactions upon antigen recogni- tion. At birth, the gut epithelial cells are not yet prepared for proper immune responses. It is therefore convenient that colostrum, as the first meal after birth, floods the gut and stimulates the epithelium, inducing its maturation and immunocompetence.
PHOTO: MARK PASVEER
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