Editing Colostrum (section)

== Composition ==
Colostrum, like other forms of milk, is mostly water, and also contains lactose, fat, minerals and protein. It also contains [[Bioactive compounds|bioactive components]] including [[Antibody|antibodies]] to protect the newborn against disease and infection, and immune and growth factors.<ref name="Ballard_2013" />  Colostrum contains [[white blood cell]]s.

Newborns have very immature and small  [[Gastrointestinal tract|digestive system]]s, and colostrum delivers its bioactives in a concentrated low-volume form.  Colostrum is known to contain immune cells (as [[lymphocytes]])<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.womenshealth.gov/itsonlynatural/addressing-myths/myths-in-the-african-american-community.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161214020108/https://www.womenshealth.gov/itsonlynatural/addressing-myths/myths-in-the-african-american-community.html | archive-date = 14 December 2016 | title=Breastfeeding myths in the African-American community | work = It's Only Natural | publisher = WowensHealth.gov | date=2017-06-09}}</ref> and many [[antibodies]] such as [[IgA]],  [[Immunoglobulin G|IgG]], and [[IgM]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Poonia A, Shiva | title = Bioactive compounds, nutritional profile and health benefits of colostrum: a review. | journal = Food Production, Processing and Nutrition | date = 2022 | volume = 4 | issue = 1 | pages = 26 | doi = 10.1186/s43014-022-00104-1 | doi-access = free | pmc = 9592540 | department = Review }}</ref><ref name = "Ramani_2024">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ramani A, Taherabbas S, Manik S | title = Bovine colostrum as a promising nutraceutical: a systematic review. | journal = Sustainable Food Technology | date = May 2024 | volume = 2 | issue = 3 | pages = 531–547 | doi = 10.1039/D3FB00256J | doi-access = free }}</ref> These are some of the components of the [[adaptive immune system]]. Other immune components of colostrum include the major components of the innate immune system, such as [[lactoferrin]], [[lysozyme]], [[lactoperoxidase]],<ref name="pmid225143">{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9780470715413.ch16 |chapter=The Lactoperoxidase-Thiocyanate-Hydrogen Peroxide Antibacterium System |title=Ciba Foundation Symposium 65 – Oxygen Free Radicals and Tissue Damage |series=Novartis Foundation Symposia |year=2008 | vauthors = Reiter B |issue=65 |pages=285–294 |pmid=225143 |isbn=978-0-470-71541-3 }}</ref> [[complement system|complement]], and [[proline rich protein|proline-rich polypeptides]] (PRP).<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Palmeira P, Carneiro-Sampaio M | title = Immunology of breast milk | journal = Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira | date = 2016 | volume = 62 | issue = 6 | pages = 584–593 | doi = 10.1590/1806-9282.62.06.584 | pmid = 27849237 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Indrio_2022">{{cite journal | vauthors = Indrio F, Neu J, Pettoello-Mantovani M, Marchese F, Martini S, Salatto A, Aceti A | title = Development of the Gastrointestinal Tract in Newborns as a Challenge for an Appropriate Nutrition: A Narrative Review | journal = Nutrients | volume = 14 | issue = 7 | date = March 2022 | page = 1405 | pmid = 35406018 | pmc = 9002905 | doi = 10.3390/nu14071405 | doi-access = free | department = Review }}</ref> A number of cytokines (small messenger peptides that control the functioning of the immune system) are found in colostrum as well, [[tumor necrosis factor]], and others.<ref name="Silva_2024">{{cite journal | vauthors = Silva FG, Silva SR, Pereira AM, Cerqueira JL, Conceição C | title = A Comprehensive Review of Bovine Colostrum Components and Selected Aspects Regarding Their Impact on Neonatal Calf Physiology | journal = Animals | volume = 14 | issue = 7 | date = April 2024 | page = 1130 | pmid = 38612369 | pmc = 11010951 | doi = 10.3390/ani14071130 | doi-access = free | department = Review }}</ref><ref name = "Godhia_2013" >{{cite journal | vauthors = Godhia ML, Patel N | title = Colostrum–its Composition, Benefits as a Nutraceutical–A Review. | journal = Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science Journal | date = August 2013 | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = 37–47 | doi = 10.12944/CRNFSJ.1.1.04 | department = Review }}</ref>

Colostrum also contains a number of [[growth factor]]s, such as [[insulin-like growth factor I]] (IGF-1),<ref name="pmid8713721">{{cite journal | vauthors = Xu RJ | title = Development of the newborn GI tract and its relation to colostrum/milk intake: a review | journal = Reproduction, Fertility, and Development | volume = 8 | issue = 1 | pages = 35–48 | year = 1996 | pmid = 8713721 | doi = 10.1071/RD9960035 | department = Review }}</ref> and [[insulin-like growth factor II|II]],<ref name="Yalçıntaş_2024">{{cite journal | vauthors = Yalçıntaş YM, Duman H, López JM, Portocarrero AC, Lombardo M, Khallouki F, Koch W, Bordiga M, El-Seedi H, Raposo A, Alves JL, Karav S | title = Revealing the Potency of Growth Factors in Bovine Colostrum | journal = Nutrients | volume = 16 | issue = 14 | date = July 2024 | page = 2359 | pmid = 39064802 | pmc = 11279796 | doi = 10.3390/nu16142359 | doi-access = free | department = Review }}</ref><ref name = "Godhia_2013" /> [[transforming growth factor alpha]],<ref name="pmid2002746">{{cite journal | vauthors = Okada M, Ohmura E, Kamiya Y, Murakami H, Onoda N, Iwashita M, Wakai K, Tsushima T, Shizume K | title = Transforming growth factor (TGF)-alpha in human milk | journal = Life Sciences | volume = 48 | issue = 12 | pages = 1151–1156 | year = 1991 | pmid = 2002746 | doi = 10.1016/0024-3205(91)90452-H | department = Review }}</ref> [[TGF beta 1|beta 1]] and [[TGF beta 2|beta 2]], [[fibroblast growth factor]]s, [[epidermal growth factor]], [[granulocyte colony-stimulating factor|granulocyte-macrophage-stimulating growth factor]],<ref name="Playford2000">{{cite journal | vauthors = Playford RJ, Macdonald CE, Johnson WS | title = Colostrum and milk-derived peptide growth factors for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders | journal = The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | volume = 72 | issue = 1 | pages = 5–14 | date = July 2000 | pmid = 10871554 | doi = 10.1093/ajcn/72.1.5 | doi-access = free | department = Review }}</ref> platelet-derived growth factor,<ref name="Playford2000" /> [[vascular endothelial growth factor]],<ref name="Playford2000" /> and [[Macrophage colony-stimulating factor|colony-stimulating factor 1]].<ref name="Yalçıntaş_2024" />

=== Proline-rich polypeptides ===
Proline-rich polypeptides (PRPs) are small immune signaling peptides that were independently discovered in colostrum and other sources, such as blood plasma, in the United States, Czechoslovakia and Poland.<ref name="Janusz_2010">{{cite journal | vauthors = Janusz M, Zabłocka A | title = Colostral proline-rich polypeptides--immunoregulatory properties and prospects of therapeutic use in Alzheimer's disease | journal = Current Alzheimer Research | volume = 7 | issue = 4 | pages = 323–333 | date = June 2010 | pmid = 19939229 | doi = 10.2174/156720510791162377 | department = Review }}</ref> Hence they appear under various names in the literature, including [[Colostrinin]], CLN, transfer factor and PRP. They function as signal transducing molecules that accelerate the maturation of cells of the immune system.<ref name="pmid18183932">{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-74087-4_9 |chapter=A Proline-Rich Polypeptide from Ovine Colostrum: Colostrinin with Immunomodulatory Activity |title=Bioactive Components of Milk |series=Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology |year=2008 | vauthors = Zimecki M |volume=606 |pages=241–250 |pmid=18183932 |isbn=978-0-387-74086-7 | department = Review }}</ref>