1. Introduction
URTIs, infectious, upper respiratory tract infections, URTIs symptoms
UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS, POLAND
Colostrum supplementation has been confirmed to protect from upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in athletes. Our trial was designed to find out whether other young adults who have potentially been exposed to increased risk of developing URTIs can also benefit. Homogenous population of medical (MED) students (at risk) and health science (HSci) peers were supplemented with a relatively low dose (0.5–1.0 g/day) of bovine colostrum (COL) or placebo (PBO) over 45 days and then once again over 7 days starting at day 87. The trial lasted 107 days. Subjects were monitored solely by them filling out online daily questionnaires containing questions about frequency and severity of URTIs symptoms, well-being, and potential gastrointestinal side-effects. A significant level of protection from URTIs was observed as expressed by dropping frequency of symptomatic days in COL vs. PBO group among MED vs. HSci students. The same effect was also recorded for severity of symptoms, as well as general well-being perception. Overall, it can be concluded that although young healthy people seem to have sufficient defenses from URTIs, COL supplementation can provide significant support in such protection among those at higher infectious risk because of exposure to a heavy workload and increased contact with infectious agents.Upper respiratory tract infections are the most prevalent medical condition affecting all populations, including various age groups [Among various approaches to enhancing resistance to URTIs, maintaining good status of the upper respiratory tract mucous membranes is one of the key ones [One of the most complex natural supplements is colostrum, commonly present on the market as a derivate of bovine colostrum (BC), a compound product with a relatively high degree of similarity to human colostrum, both in composition and influence on human organism [Although available studies generally confirm the effectiveness of bovine colostrum in preventing the URTIs occurrence, their character makes the conclusive and broad interpretation of the results difficult [Considering the above issues, we performed a double-blind clinical trial assessing the effect of supplementing bovine colostrum versus placebo on the development of URTIs. We tested large size populations exposed to supposedly coherent external conditions; moreover, all the subjects participated in the trial within exactly the same timeframe. Our populations of choice have become two groups of students taking various courses at Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Poland. These groups were medical students (MED) and Health Science students (HSci)—both groups differed in exposure to contact with pathogens and the workload at school. Our trial is the first ever attempt to test the relationship between colostrum supplementation and URTI occurrence in the relatively uniform adult population of a non-athletic background.