Drug & supplement interaction

Bovine Colostrum + Mesalamine

Mesalamine brand names: Pentasa, Asacol, Canasa, Rowasa, Lialda, and others.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Bovine Colostrum and Mesalamine in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first. Additionally, although there is no interaction, the label for Mesalamine states a food rule worth keeping to, and the two are separately associated with some of the same side effects, which would make a new symptom harder to attribute to one or the other.

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Interaction report

Bovine Colostrum and Mesalamine

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Mesalamine and Bovine Colostrum in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — there is often limited research on supplements and herbal products, especially around drug interactions.

Worth understanding: our licensed dataset holds no drug-interaction record for Bovine Colostrum at all — not against Mesalamine, and not against any other medication we track. This verdict therefore rests on the absence of any recorded data, not on research that looked at this combination and found nothing. We cannot rule an interaction out.

If you decide to take both, the practical routine is simple: add one new thing at a time and note the date you started it. If the combination is going to disagree with you, it usually shows in the first days to a couple of weeks — and a start date turns “I’ve been feeling off” into something a pharmacist can actually work with. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

Bovine Colostrum safety at a glance

Bovine Colostrum overall Use caution Generally well tolerated in most adults, but those with milk or dairy allergy should avoid it.
Pregnancy Use caution Not enough reliable safety data, so it is best to avoid unless your doctor approves.
Breastfeeding Use caution Safety is not well studied during breastfeeding, so use caution and ask your provider.

Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Mesalamine and Bovine Colostrum? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Bovine Colostrum and Mesalamine May Share Several of the Same Side Effects

This is not an interaction. Neither one changes how your body handles the other, and nothing here says they react together. What our sources do show is that each has separately been linked to the effects below — so taking both can make those effects more likely to turn up, and harder to pin on one or the other if they do. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • An allergic reaction Worth acting on Additional detail

    Bovine Colostrum

    “Theoretical adverse effects to bovine colostrum include an allergic reaction in individuals allergic to bovine milk products. There is also some concern that bovine colostrum that is obtained from cows in countries where bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE) has been reported might be unsafe, however, there is no research indicating that colostrum can be contaminated with the BSE-causing prion.”

    Bovine Colostrum · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in encephalitis.

    1 source cited
    1. 1825. Lewis CJ. Letter to reiterate certain public health and safety concerns to firms manufacturing or importing dietary supplements that contain specific bovine tissues. FDA. Available at: www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dspltr05.html.

    Mesalamine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Mesalamine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Bloating or gas / Vomiting Additional detail

    Bovine Colostrum

    “Orally, bovine colostrum has caused nausea and vomiting in an individual with HIV-related cryptosporidiosis. In clinical trials of bovine colostrum, bloating, nausea, diarrhea, and unsettled stomach have been reported as mild in nature by a few patients with a similar rate of occurrence as those taking a whey-based control.”

    Bovine Colostrum · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    4 sources cited
    1. 4905. Greenberg PD, Cello JP. Treatment of severe diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum with oral bovine immunoglobulin concentrate in patients with AIDS. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol 1996;13:348-54. PubMed
    2. 92414. Duff WR, Chilibeck PD, Rooke JJ, Kaviani M, Krentz JR, Haines DM. The effect of bovine colostrum supplementation in older adults during resistance training. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2014 Jun;24(3):276-85. PubMed
    3. 101792. Sanctuary MR, Kain JN, Chen SY, et al. Pilot study of probiotic/colostrum supplementation on gut function in children with autism and gastrointestinal symptoms. PLoS One. 2019;14(1):e0210064. PubMed
    4. 114819. Halasa M, Skonieczna-Zydecka K, Machalinski B, Bühner L, Baskiewicz-Halasa M. Six Weeks of Supplementation with Bovine Colostrum Effectively Reduces URTIs Symptoms Frequency and Gravity for Up to 20 Weeks in Pre-School Children. Nutrients 2023;15(16):3626 PubMed

    Mesalamine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Mesalamine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Diarrhea Additional detail

    Bovine Colostrum

    “Orally, bovine colostrum has caused elevated liver function tests in HIV patients treated for infectious diarrhea.”

    Bovine Colostrum · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    1 source cited
    1. 4905. Greenberg PD, Cello JP. Treatment of severe diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum with oral bovine immunoglobulin concentrate in patients with AIDS. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol 1996;13:348-54. PubMed

    Mesalamine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Mesalamine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Reported for Bovine Colostrum but not commonly for Mesalamine: a severe allergic reaction, hives, itching and nausea.

Effects for Mesalamine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Bovine Colostrum come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

How to take them

Some Mesalamine Products Have a Food Rule — Bovine Colostrum Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Mesalamine says to take it with food. If you take Bovine Colostrum on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate — and take Mesalamine with a meal where the label says to.

This may not be true of your version. Food instructions belong to the product, not the ingredient: two Mesalamine products can carry different directions, and extended-release forms often differ from immediate-release ones. The label we read is quoted below — check the directions on your own box or bottle, or ask your pharmacist, for how to take the exact product you were given.

( 2 ) Administer mesalamine delayed-release tablets with food.

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Mesalamine — where that label names a specific product, the instruction is that product's. Read the label on DailyMed ›

A food rule is not an interaction — it is about how much of the medicine you absorb. The directions that came with your own product, and your pharmacist, outrank anything on this page.

Overlapping uses

What Mesalamine Is Prescribed For, and What Bovine Colostrum Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Mesalamine is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Bovine Colostrum is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Mesalamine is prescribed for: Mesalamine is used to treat mildly to moderately active ulcerative colitis — a condition where the lining of the large intestine becomes inflamed and ulcerated. Depending on the product and formulation, it can be used to bring the disease under control (induction of remission) and/or to keep it from coming back (maintenance of remission). Different products target different parts of the lower digestive tract. Oral forms (tablets and capsules) treat the colon more broadly.

Read the rest of what Mesalamine is prescribed for

Rectal forms — including enemas (ROWASA, sfROWASA, mesalamine rectal suspension) — are used for distal ulcerative colitis, proctosigmoiditis, or proctitis (inflammation limited to the lower end of the colon or rectum). Rectal suppositories (CANASA, mesalamine rectal suppositories) are specifically for ulcerative proctitis (inflammation of the rectum only).

Bovine Colostrum has been studied for:

  • Ulcerative colitis studied, not established Bovine Colostrum has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Bovine Colostrum for ulcerative colitis

    It is unclear if rectal bovine colostrum is beneficial in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Mesalamine on your own; if you are taking Bovine Colostrum for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

From our Q&A

Questions About Bovine Colostrum or Mesalamine

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Bovine Colostrum or Mesalamine, not necessarily both, but if one is close to what you were about to ask it will usually go further than a database entry can:

Not quite your question? Ask our pharmacists directly — it is free, there is no account required, and answers usually come back within 24 hours.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Mesalamine

This page covers Bovine Colostrum only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Mesalamine page lists 17 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Coffee Charcoal (moderate), European Mandrake (moderate), Glucomannan (moderate) and Guar Gum (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 7 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Mesalamine page

“Activated charcoal is the one entry here I would treat as a genuine problem for anyone taking mesalamine (Asacol, Lialda, Pentasa, and others). It is the lone major-rated interaction among the 17 on file, because charcoal soaks up drugs in the gut and can pull mesalamine out of the picture before it does its job.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Mesalamine interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Bovine Colostrum and Mesalamine Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Bovine Colostrum
Steady interest

#1,397 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Mesalamine
Top 25%

#687 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Where does our data come from?
  • Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions.
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Bovine Colostrum reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Bovine Colostrum and Mesalamine records this page draws on were last updated July 10, 2026.
  • What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.
Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by .
Supplement

About Bovine Colostrum

What is Bovine Colostrum?

Bovine Colostrum
  • Immune support
  • Gut health and digestion
  • Exercise recovery
  • Diarrhea (including infectious diarrhea)
  • Anti-inflammatory support

Bovine colostrum is the nutrient-rich first milk from cows, packed with antibodies, growth factors, and protein. Early research suggests it may help with gut health, certain types of diarrhea, and immune support, but more high-quality studies are needed. It is generally well tolerated, but people with milk allergy should avoid it, and pregnant or breastfeeding women should check with a healthcare provider first.

Colostrum (the first milk produced by cows after calving) · Powder, capsules, chewable tablets, liquid

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether Bovine Colostrum is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our Bovine Colostrum record says about it on its own.

Bovine Colostrum: dosing

There is no official standardized dose for bovine colostrum. Studies have used a wide range of amounts depending on the product and the condition being studied, so there is no single "right" dose for everyone.The best approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not take more than recommended.

From our Bovine Colostrum monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Bovine Colostrum monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Mesalamine

What Is Mesalamine Used For?

Brand names: Pentasa, Asacol, Canasa, Rowasa, Lialda, Delzicol

Mesalamine is used to treat mildly to moderately active ulcerative colitis — a condition where the lining of the large intestine becomes inflamed and ulcerated. Depending on the product and formulation, it can be used to bring the disease under control (induction of remission) and/or to keep it from coming back (maintenance of remission).

Different products target different parts of the lower digestive tract. Oral forms (tablets and capsules) treat the colon more broadly. Rectal forms — including enemas (ROWASA, sfROWASA, mesalamine rectal suspension) — are used for distal ulcerative colitis, proctosigmoiditis, or proctitis (inflammation limited to the lower end of the colon or rectum). Rectal suppositories (CANASA, mesalamine rectal suppositories) are specifically for ulcerative proctitis (inflammation of the rectum only).

See full Mesalamine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Bovine Colostrum

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Bovine Colostrum — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

0Major
0Moderate
0Minor
2,829No known interaction
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Bovine Colostrum References

The 8 references that drive our Bovine Colostrum monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. Lewis CJ. Letter to reiterate certain public health and safety concerns to firms manufacturing or importing dietary supplements that contain specific bovine tissues. FDA. Available at: www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dspltr05.html.
  2. Greenberg PD, Cello JP. Treatment of severe diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum with oral bovine immunoglobulin concentrate in patients with AIDS. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol 1996;13:348-54. PubMed
  3. Duff WR, Chilibeck PD, Rooke JJ, Kaviani M, Krentz JR, Haines DM. The effect of bovine colostrum supplementation in older adults during resistance training. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2014 Jun;24(3):276-85. PubMed
  4. Sanctuary MR, Kain JN, Chen SY, et al. Pilot study of probiotic/colostrum supplementation on gut function in children with autism and gastrointestinal symptoms. PLoS One. 2019;14(1):e0210064. PubMed
  5. Porcaro F, Caminiti L, Crisafulli G, Guglielmo F, Pajno GB. Anaphylaxis to cutaneous exposure to bovine colostrum based cream. Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol. 2019;37(1):9-11.
  6. Yan X, Pan X, Ding L, et al. Bovine colostrum to supplement the first feeding of very preterm infants: The PreColos randomized controlled trial. Clin Nutr 2023;42(8):1408-1417. PubMed
  7. Halasa M, Skonieczna-Zydecka K, Machalinski B, Bühner L, Baskiewicz-Halasa M. Six Weeks of Supplementation with Bovine Colostrum Effectively Reduces URTIs Symptoms Frequency and Gravity for Up to 20 Weeks in Pre-School Children. Nutrients 2023;15(16):3626 PubMed
  8. Simonsen MB, Kappel SS, Aunsholt L, Möller S, Sangild PT, Zachariassen G. Mineral supplementation for very preterm infants fed fortified human milk. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2024;78(6):1389-1397. PubMed

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Bovine Colostrum and Mesalamine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Bovine Colostrum with Mesalamine?
We do not list a known interaction between Bovine Colostrum and Mesalamine. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.
Do Bovine Colostrum and Mesalamine have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 4 of the same effects. That is not an interaction: neither changes how your body handles the other. It does mean that if one of those effects turns up, it can be harder to tell which one is behind it. They are listed on this page with the source behind each.
Should I take Bovine Colostrum and Mesalamine at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Mesalamine says to take it with food. If you take Bovine Colostrum on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Mesalamine with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Mesalamine products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
Are Bovine Colostrum and Mesalamine used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Bovine Colostrum in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Mesalamine is being adjusted to a target.
Does Mesalamine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Mesalamine has documented interactions with 17 supplements in our database — Bovine Colostrum is not one of them. The Mesalamine interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Still Have a Question About Mesalamine and Bovine Colostrum?

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.