ABSTRACT
Due to the range of its constituents, colostrum has been considered as a supplement for various diverse purposes. This study was conducted to examine the effect of supplementary bovine colostrum on serum malondialdehyde [MDA], antioxidant activity [AOA] and glucose in a diabetic rodent model. Sixty male Wistar rats were divided into 10 groups of six rats each for 40 days as follows: non-diabetic; diabetic; diabetic with 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake; non-diabetic with 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake; diabetic treated with insulin; and diabetic treated with glibenclamide. Although serum MDA levels showed a significant decrease in response to insulin [2.56 +/- 0.31 umol/L] and 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake [0.46 +/- 0.04, 0.29 +/- 0.06, 0.37 +/- 0.09 jumol/L, respectively], the decrease was greater in the diabetic rats [3.92 +/- 0.29 umol/L] [p < 0.01]. Significant changes were seen in the AOA of both insulin [0.78 +/- 0.11 mmol/L] and glibenclamide [0.7 +/- 0.08 mmol/L] treated rats compared to the diabetic rats [0.69 +/- 0.1 mmol/L]; however, AOA showed a significant increase in response to 10% [1.78 +/- 0.11 mmol/L], 20% [1.57 +/- 0.02 mmol/L] and 30% [1.75 +/- 0.02 mmol/L] colostrum [p < 0.001]. All treated groups showed a significant decrease in serum glucose levels compared to the diabetic group [391 +/- 39.79 mg/dL] [p < 0.01]. It seems that colostrum might be a beneficial dietary supplement for reducing serum MDA and glucose levels while increasing serum AOA in type 1 diabetes mellitus