Co-administration of the health food supplement, bovine colostrum, reducesthe acute non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced increase in intestinal permeability
Rj. Playford et al., Co-administration of the health food supplement, bovine colostrum, reducesthe acute non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced increase in intestinal permeability, CLIN SCI, 100(6), 2001, pp. 627-633
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective analgesics but
cause gastrointestinal injury. Present prophylactic measures are suboptima
l and novel therapies are required. Bovine colostrum is a cheap, readily av
ailable source of growth factors, which reduces gastrointestinal injury in
rats and mice. We therefore examined whether spray-dried, defatted colostru
m could reduce the rise in gut permeability (a non-invasive marker of intes
tinal injury) caused by NSAIDs in volunteers and patients taking NSAIDs for
clinical reasons. Healthy male volunteers (n = 7) participated in a random
ized crossover trial comparing changes in gut permeability (lactulose/rhamn
ose ratios) before and after 5 days of 50 mg of indomethacin three times da
ily (tds) per oral with colostrum (125 ml, tds) or whey protein (control) c
oadministration. A second study examined the effect of colostral and contro
l solutions (125 ml, tds for 7 days) on gut permeability in patients (n = 1
5) taking a substantial, regular dose of an NSAID for clinical reasons. For
both studies, there was a 2 week washout period between treatment arms. In
volunteers, indomethacin caused a 3-fold increase in gut permeability in t
he control arm (lactulose/rhamnose ratio 0.36 +/-0.07 prior to indomethacin
and 1.17 +/- 0.25 on day 5, P < 0.01), whereas no significant increase in
permeability was seen when colostrum was co-administered. In patients takin
g long-term NSAID treatment, initial permeability ratios were low (0. 1 3 /- 0.02), despite continuing on the drug, and permeability was not influenc
ed by co-administration of test solutions. These studies provide preliminar
y evidence that bovine colostrum, which is already currently available as a
n over-the-counter preparation, may provide a novel approach to the prevent
ion of NSAID-induced gastrointestinal damage in humans.