Bovine colostrum antibodies against human viral antigens | Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer Open Menu Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Home Food Science Publisher Functional Food Center Current Archives About About the Journal Aims and Scope Contact Editing Services Editorial Team Express Peer Review Graphical Abstract Journal Insights Privacy Statement Submissions Announcements Search Search Register Login Home / Archives / Vol. 15 No. 4 (2025): April 2025 / Research Articles Bovine colostrum antibodies against human viral antigens Authors Darya Shlykova Maria Yurkova Nikolay Burachevskii Sergey Mayzel Alexey Fedorov DOI: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i4.1592 Abstract Background: Bovine colostrum (BC) is the first milk produced by a cow postpartum. It is a unique substance rich in antibodies that protects the body against bacterial and viral pathogens. BC significantly contributes to human nutrition and health, as its effectiveness against certain human viruses is well-studied. Locally, cows are vaccinated with a polyvalent inactivated vaccine against viral diarrhea, bovine escherichiosis, bovine rotavirus (BRoV), and bovine coronavirus (BCoV). BC contains high levels of antibodies against these antigens, which provide advanced immune protection to the body.  Methods: The study's goal was to determine whether BC fractions from cows contain antibodies with cross-reactivity against recombinant human proteins represented by receptor-binding domain (RBD) and nucleocapsid (NP) proteins of various strains of human SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, including the Wuhan, Lambda, Mu, and Omicron variants. This study was conducted using the ELISA method.  Results: Specific antibodies against BRoV and BCoV were detected in significant amounts. The study found that antibodies against all the variants of human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 studied were present in the BC evaluated. Furthermore, antibodies produced from the Rotateq vaccine, containing human and bovine hybrid rotavirus strains, were present. Conclusions: Detection of antibodies in the early milk of cows indicates a potential of BC as a food supplement for some human viral diseases due to the presence of conserved epitopes shared by human and bovine rotaviruses and coronaviruses. Keywords: bovine colostrum, antibodies, heterologous immune response, antigens, functional food, antigen Downloads [Abstract] [Full Article] Published 2025-04-18 Issue Vol. 15 No. 4 (2025): April 2025 Section Research Articles License Copyright (c) 2025 Functional Foods in Health and Disease This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives   Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com