Effects of bovine colostrum supplement intake to health: a systematic literature review

Introduction: Bovine colostrum has been widely consumed as it is claimed to provide immunity to adults and also beneficial to the gastrointestinal tract for children. Aim: This study aimed 1) to identify the dosage of bovine supplement needed to improve health outcome in human, 2) to assess the duration for bovine supplement intake to produce positive health outcome in human, 3) to identify the outcome of bovine supplement intake to human. Methods: Four databases (Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest and Semantics) were used to search for relevant journal articles. The PRISMA checklist was used for this systematic review with inclusion and exclusion criteria. Search terms were determined to identify relevant journal article. Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and Robins-I Tool were used to assess the risk of bias. Results: Ten articles were included for review. The dosage and duration of bovine colostrum intake depended on the age groups and condition. The dosage of bovine colostrum for children was between 0.5 g to 3 g per day while for adults and older adults, the dosage was 3.2 g to 60 g per day. The duration of bovine colostrum intake identified in this review was from 4.5 hours to 5 months. The results showed that bovine colostrum intake has positive effects for children with diseases, hospitalized ICU adults, and athletes. Not all effects were observed in certain groups especially among healthy adults and older adults. However, there was no negative effect reported. Conclusions: The intake of bovine colostrum supplementation provided positive outcomes and could be one of the treatments for certain diseases but further research is warranted. Researchers can broaden their studies in human with different age range and with different conditions and diseases related to immune system