The epiteliochorial nature of pig placenta lines it against the transfer of maternal immunoglobulins to the embryo, and hence, the piglets depend on the ingestion of colostrum to acquire passive immunity. Colostrum is rich in immunoglobulins and in immune cells besides other bioactive compounds that jointly nourish and regulate biological functions. However, little is known about the role of some of these components, such as cytokines, for instance, which participate in the innate and adaptative immune response.

The transistion from colostrum to milk occurs between 1 and 2 days after the birth, whereas the piglet's absorption of immunoglobulins ceases 24-hours after the birth. Since vitality at birth is essential to have the piglets be able to perform the first feeding, animals with very low weight at birth or very large litters need assistance for their effective ingestion of colostrum. Hence supplementation with preserved colostrum helps to reduce mortality.

A colostrus bank can be established by manually milking the sows and storing this colostrus at -20ºC; however, extensive death of cells, including immune cells, occurs due to the freezing.

This project aims to analyze and characterize the humoral and cellular immunological potential of fresh and frozen swine colostrum, and determine the short-term effect of freezinf on leukocytes, immunoglobulins and pro-inflammatory cytokines present in colostrum.