Composition and Factors Affecting Quality of Bovine Colostrum: A Review

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In an attempt to improve the most important production traits of dairy cows, breeders omit the problem of calf rearing, whose regularity has a major impact on subsequent dairy and reproductive use. Therefore, it should be made clear to farmers that one of the ways to improve profitability is to improve the quality of colostrum. The most critical time for calves is the first 2 weeks, when the most falls occur, which may result from disorders of the digestive system and contribute to poor quality of colostrum or poor husbandry. Colostrum possesses a number of properties, such as nourishing, energetic, protective, but also purgative. It activates peristalsis, thus the excretion of meconium, therefore preventing its excessive densification and problems with excretion. Colostrum contains bioactive components with immune enhancing properties: Immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, lysozyme, lactoperoxidase, α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, or fat that carries important vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The concentration of the above-mentioned compounds is variable and depends on many factors, including breed, productivity, parity, feeding intensity, season of the year, and/or production system. ABSTRACT: Colostrum as a secretion of the mammary gland is produced and accumulated in the final stage of pregnancy and in the first days after calving. It is designed to provide the calf with the necessary nutrients and biologically active ingredients. One of the most difficult periods in the life of animals is their rearing, and the most sensitive are the first days after birth. This is the time when most falls occur, and they are caused by mortality and morbidity, even at the level of 30%. Such losses affect the performance and profitability of animal production (the percentage of animals intended for reproduction or fattening is reduced and the intensity of selection in the herd is also reduced). Both diseases and mortality are the cause of serious economic, production, and breeding losses, which are the result of weak immune mechanisms. The adaptability of calves to the environment is determined by their immune status. Colostrum has a regulating function and stimulates the young organism to grow, and it has properties that support the functioning of systems: Endocrine and immunological. For colostrum to fulfil its role, it must be administered immediately after birth, because the immunoglobulins it contains are absorbed during the first 16–27 h after the birth of the calf, preferably within 2–4 h of age. Blood from calves that have been properly calved should have an antibody concentration of 15g/L (24–48 h of age). Therefore, immunoglobulins are the most important factor affecting infectious immunity; an adequate concentration of immunoglobulins in calves’ blood is related to their survival and health. It is the intent of this review to synthesize and summarize the information currently available on colostrum, as well as to discuss the interpretation of the results.