Benefits
Gut barrier function during hard physical exertion
None of these trials is identified as using Prodiet; the products named in them came from other suppliers, and small trials disagree. In two crossover studies of 12 and 8 volunteers, 14 days of colostrum (20 g a day in the second) blunted the rise in a urinary gut-permeability marker after hard exercise by 70 to 80%. In runners taking 60 g a day for 8 weeks, the same marker rose instead.
Leg strength and jump power, tested against protein controls
Small trials of other colostrum products, double-blind against protein controls, disagree. In 40 older adults lifting weights, 60 g a day for 8 weeks raised leg press strength more than whey (24 vs 8 kg); bench press and lean mass rose equally. In 29 rugby players, 38 g a day gave a small jump gain but no strength gain over soy. In 18 soccer players, 3.2 g a day kept jump height up better after a hard drill (partly seller-funded).
Immune support
Colostrum supplies IgG antibodies, but Ingredia's own immune data for Prodiet are laboratory studies. In swimmers and students on 25 g a day of another product for 10 weeks, antibody levels did not change and the drop in swimmers' symptom reports was not significant. In students on 0.5 to 1 g a day, the whole group did not differ from placebo; only medical students with hospital exposure, and the final period, showed fewer symptom days.
Mechanism of action
Immunoglobulin G in the gut
IgG is the main antibody Ingredia concentrates in Prodiet Colostrum. Taken by mouth, it is proposed to act inside the gut, binding microbes and toxins, rather than in the bloodstream. This is a proposed mechanism: in the swimmer trial, 25 g a day did not change antibody levels in saliva or blood, and Ingredia's immune-cell data come from laboratory studies.
Growth factors and the gut lining
Colostrum contains growth factors. In human colon cell lines, colostrum raised heat shock protein 70, limited heat-induced cell death and the fall in barrier resistance, and the heat shock protein rise was blocked by an antibody against the EGF receptor. These are laboratory findings; in people, only a urinary permeability marker has been measured, with results that disagree between trials.
Clinical trials
Double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial in 12 volunteers given 14 days of bovine colostrum or placebo before standardized heavy exercise, with gut permeability measured by the 5-hour urinary lactulose/rhamnose ratio; the abstract does not name the product or state the dose, and the paper also includes cell-culture work. (Marchbank et al. 2011, Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol)
12 volunteers in a crossover design.
On placebo the permeability ratio rose 2.5-fold after the bout (0.38 to 0.92); on colostrum the rise was truncated by 80% (0.38 to 0.49). The heat shock protein and EGF receptor findings come from the paper's cell-culture arm, not from the volunteers.
Double-blind, placebo-controlled, four-arm crossover trial in 8 volunteers, each taking placebo (milk protein concentrate), zinc carnosine (37.5 mg twice daily), bovine colostrum (10 g twice daily, 20 g/day) or both for 14 days before a 20-minute treadmill run at 80% of maximal aerobic capacity; doses and funders (three UK universities) from trial registry ISRCTN51159138. (Davison et al. 2016, Am J Clin Nutr)
8 healthy volunteers (men, per the trial registry).
Gut permeability rose 3-fold after the run on placebo. Colostrum alone, and the zinc compound alone, each truncated that rise by 70% after 14 days; the combination also cut it by 30% as early as day 2. The trial had only 8 people and shares authors with the 2011 trial.
Trial in 30 healthy men running three times a week for 8 weeks: 13 served as unsupplemented controls and the rest were randomly assigned, double-blind, to 60 g/day of bovine colostrum (intact, Numico Research Australia; 9) or whey protein (8), with gut permeability measured by the urinary lactulose/rhamnose ratio; supported in part by a grant from Numico Research Australia, the colostrum's supplier. (Buckley et al. 2009, Nutrients)
30 healthy adult men (9 on colostrum).
The permeability ratio rose 251% on colostrum, versus 21% on whey and a 7% fall in controls, so the marker moved the wrong way at this dose. The authors suggest the rise may reflect more transport of large molecules rather than damage.
Double-blind randomized trial in 40 older adults (15 men, 25 women, about 59 years) given 60 g/day of bovine colostrum or a whey protein complex for 8 weeks during resistance training 3 days a week. (Duff et al. 2014, Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab)
40 older adults in a resistance training program.
Leg press strength rose more on colostrum than on whey (24 vs 8 kg, p < .01). Bench press strength, muscle thickness and lean tissue mass improved in both groups with no difference between them, and plasma IGF-1 and CRP did not change.
Double-blind randomized trial in 29 club rugby players (three women) given 38 g/day of bovine colostrum or soy protein for 8 weeks during the competitive season; the authors declared no relevant financial interests. (Mizelman et al. 2026, Eur J Appl Physiol)
29 club-level rugby players.
Vertical jump rose slightly more on colostrum (+1.0 cm vs -0.5 cm on soy, p = 0.0023). Upper and lower body strength, aerobic power, body composition and salivary immune and inflammatory markers did not differ from soy, and reported illness was unaffected.
Double-blind randomized trial in 18 soccer players given 3.2 g/day of bovine colostrum (Colostrum Compact, LR Health and Beauty Systems; n = 10) or whey protein (n = 8) for 6 weeks, tested with a muscle-damaging shuttle-running protocol before and after; partly funded by LR Health and Beauty Systems, for which the first author consults. (Kotsis et al. 2018, Eur J Nutr)
18 soccer players during the competitive season.
After supplementation, squat jump performance was better maintained on colostrum than on whey (p = 0.034), creatine kinase showed only a trend (p = 0.081), and CRP followed a more favorable time course (p = 0.038). Performance was maintained, not improved, and the study was small.
Double-blind randomized trial in 25 elite swimmers and 28 non-exercising students given 25 g/day of low-protein bovine colostrum powder or an isocaloric placebo for 10 weeks. (Crooks et al. 2010, Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab)
25 elite swimmers aged 14 to 23 and 28 students aged 18 to 27.
Colostrum had no significant effect on saliva or blood immunoglobulin levels in either group. After 4 weeks, fewer swimmers on colostrum than on placebo reported upper respiratory symptoms (25% vs 61%), but the difference was not significant (p = .062), and students showed no difference.
Randomized, triple-blind trial in 271 enrolled medical and health science students given 500 mg of bovine colostrum (supplied by Genactiv Trade) twice daily for 15 days, then once daily for 30 days, plus a 7-day course from day 87, or a whey placebo, with symptoms self-reported online over 107 days; 158 were analyzed. (Baśkiewicz-Hałasa et al. 2023, Nutrients)
158 analyzed healthy medical and health science university students (271 enrolled).
Across all students over 107 days, symptom days (p = 0.21) and severity (p = 0.31) did not differ significantly. Medical students attending hospital classes had fewer and milder symptom days on colostrum, and all students had fewer symptom days in the final period after the second course. An author receives payment from the manufacturer.