The effect of dietary bovine colostrum supplementation on serum malondialdehyde levels and antioxidant activity in alloxan-induced diabetic rats

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 µmol/L) and 10%, 20% or 30% colostrum intake (0.46 ± 0.04, 0.29 ± 0.06, 0.37 ± 0.09 µmol/L, respectively), the decrease was greater in the diabetic rats (3.92 ± 0.29 µmol/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 type1 diabetes mellitus.