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EFFECT OF AN ORAL BOVINE COLOSTRUM SUPPLEMENT (INTACT®) ON RUNNING PERFORMANCE
JD Buckley, MG Abbott, S Martin, GD Brinkworth, PBD Whyte
Centre for Research in Education and Sports Science, University of South Australia
Bovine colostrum is secreted by cows during the first few days after calving and is a rich source of bioactive components, including growth factors. Oral supplementation with a whey fraction of bovine colostrum has been shown to significantly increase serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) concentrations with no effect on vertical jump performance (Mero et. al. 1997). The present study employed a double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel, randomised design to determine the effect of supplementation with a low fat, low lactose, concentrated bovine colostrum powder (intact®, Numico Research Australia Pty Ltd) on plasma IGF-1 concentrations and endurance running performance. After an initial familiarisation period in the two weeks prior to commencement, 39 males, aged 18-35 years, completed an 8 week running program (3 x 45 minutes/week at lactate threshold) whilst consuming 60g/day of intact® bovine colostrum (n=23, peak VO2 53.5 + 1.1 ml.kg-1.min-1) or whey protein (n=16, peak VO2 54.2 + 1.7 ml.kg-1.min-1). All subjects followed dietary guidelines provided by the researchers and kept food diaries throughout the study period for subsequent dietary analysis. Subjects completed 2 incremental treadmill running tests to exhaustion (10 km/hr, incremented 1% grade every 3 min) separated by 20 minutes of recovery at weeks 0, 4 and 8. There were no differences in plasma IGF-1 concentrations between the groups at week 0 (colostrum 231.1 + 10.7 ng/ml, placebo 221.0 + 13.3 ng/ml; P=0.37). Plasma IFG-1 concentrations did not change in either group during the study period (P=0.90). There were no differences in the distance covered (m) or work done (kJ; vertical distance covered x body mass x 9.81m/s2) during the first (colostrum 4649 +238m, 155.8 + 15.7 kJ; placebo 4464 + 320m, 140.2 + 19.6 kJ; P>0.46) or the second (colostrum 4044 +357m, 120.6 + 21.3 kJ; placebo 3942 + 388m, 110.7 + 21.1 kJ; P>0.91) treadmill runs at week 0. Distance covered and work done during the first treadmill run increased in both groups during the study period (P<0.01), but at similar rates (P>0.69). During the second treadmill run both groups exhibited similar increases in the distance covered and work done from weeks 0-4 (P>0.20) but, from weeks 4-8 the intact® colostrum group ran further (colostrum 4662 + 251m, placebo 4237 + 323m; P=0.04) and did more work than the placebo group (colostrum 150.7 + 17.1kJ, placebo 124.2 + 18.9kJ; P=0.03). The TEM for running time (which equates to distance covered and work done) was 2%. There were no differences in dietary intakes between the two groups. These results indicate that oral supplementation with intact® bovine colostrum improves the ability to perform a second bout of maximal exercise following a relatively short period of recovery from a prior bout of maximal exercise.
Reference:
Mero, A., Miikkulainen, H., Rishi, J., Pakkanen, R., Aalto, J., Takala, T. (1997) Effects of bovine colostrum supplementation on serum IGF-1, IgG, hormone and saliva IgA during training. J. Appl. Physiol. 83(4):114-1151.
Proceedings of and oral presentation given by Dr. John Buckley to the:-
Australian Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport, Adelaide, South Australia, October, 1998.
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