Question

What is colostrum? How milk production is hormonally regulated?

Answer 1

Mammals produce milk to feed their babies. This milk is produced by the mammary glands. The first milk produced by the animals is thick and is rich in antibodies. It helps the child to fight against several diseases.

Complete Answer:
- Colostrums is the milky fluid which is thick, white or yellow in color, sticky in texture, it is secreted by the mammary glands of mammals, which have recently given birth to young ones. After the birth of the child, It keeps on getting secreted for a few days before breast milk comes in. It is rich in protein content, it has high concentration of antibodies and nutrients, growth and tissue repair factors are also present.
- Milk production is hormonally regulated from many endocrine glands as prolactin is one of the important hormones concerned with both lactogenesis and galactopoiesis. After parturition there is a sudden surge in the secretion of milk which is most likely due to the rapid decline of the serum levels of progesterone.
- The neuro endocrine reflex mechanism controls the ejection of milk from the lactating mammary gland. All the hormones controlling lactation is secreted by several endocrine glands. Intramammary pressure is increased by oxytocin by inducing contraction of the myoepithelial cells which helps in expelling the milk from the mammary glands.
- Frequent and intensive suckling means maintenance of normal postpartum lactation. Suckling helps in secretion of prolactin and ACTH and also stimulates the release of oxytocin. Prolactin has been proven to be a useful tool for regulating lactation secretion.

Note: Colostrum consists of lactose, fat( polyunsaturated fatty acids), protein, peptides, lysozyme, non-protein nitrogen, ash, important vitamins and minerals, hormones, growth factors, cytokines and nucleotides. Except for lactose, the levels of this entire compound reduce rapidly during the first 3 days of lactation.