ORAL-ADMINISTRATION OF PECTIN-RICH PLANT-EXTRACT ENHANCES C3 AND C4 COMPLEMENT CONCENTRATION IN WOMAN COLOSTRUM

C3 and C4 components of the complement are normally present in human c olostrum. These compounds are natural antibacterial agents. Pectin-ric h plant extracts have been shown to induce prolactin release and milk synthesis when administered by the oral route in rat. In the present w ork, extract from a plant rich in pectin, Gossypium herbaceum was give n orally to women 2 days after parturition. The extract enhanced conce ntration of C3 and C4 in colostrum but did not modify the total hemoly tic complement activity (TCH50). No change in the concentration of the three compounds was observed in serum of the treated women. Control e xperiments showed that a treatment by placebo had no effect on colostr um composition. These data suggest that pectin-rich plant extracts fav our transfer of C3 and C4 from blood to colostrum by an unknown mechan ism. This observation suggests that some plant extracts might be used to reinforce the antibacterial activity of human colostrum. (C) Inra/E lsevier, Paris.