Lactoferrin, a protein naturally found in milk and other bodily fluids, is garnering attention for its potential health benefits. While often associated with infant nutrition due to its presence in breast milk, lactoferrin offers a range of advantages for adults as well, including potential weight management support. This article explores the multifaceted benefits of lactoferrin, with a particular focus on its role in weight loss.
What is Lactoferrin?
Lactoferrin, also known as lactotransferrin, is a nutrient, more specifically an iron-binding glycoprotein, found in milk, mucosa, tears, saliva, and nasal fluids of mammals. There's a reason why breast milk is so coveted. It helps babies grow to be strong and healthy, with robust immune systems. Even if your infancy is long behind you, that doesn't mean you can't benefit from this nutrient-which, for adults, comes from whey protein. Because of the benefits lactoferrin can offer, it's sometimes added to animal feed, and even to cosmetics and other products. It is also a popular supplement.
Lactoferrin is mostly acquired by purifying milk or colostrum (the first milk that the body produces after pregnancy). However, since there isn't much of it in milk, it's hard to obtain much and it's very expensive. It is also isolated from bovine (cattle) milk. By isolating the lactoferrin, they're able to use it in supplement form.
The Multifaceted Benefits of Lactoferrin
Research suggests that lactoferrin plays a vital role in:
Immune System Support
- Stimulating the Immune System: Lactoferrin helps support a healthy response to inflammation and stimulate the immune system. Protects your immune health at the cellular level.
- Promoting Gut Health: Lactoferrin helps to stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria, a type of bacterium that's beneficial. Promotes immune-friendly gut bacteria.
- Protecting Against Unhealthy Cell Division: Lactoferrin protects against unhealthy cell division.
- Enhancing Mucous Membrane Function: Lactoferrin helps your mucous do its job. Mucous production isn't just an annoyance-it's also an important part of your body's system of protecting you.
Iron Regulation
- Balancing Iron Levels: Lactoferrin supports healthy iron levels-As we mentioned previously, having sufficient iron (and avoiding iron deficiency) is key to keeping your immune system strong, but it's also important to stay energized.
Blood Sugar Management
- Supporting Healthy Blood Sugar: A study found that lactoferrin supported healthy pancreas function in rats. While more research is needed (particularly on humans), this finding does make sense when you consider that the pancreas influences the amount of sugar in the blood, which affects energy levels. So lactoferrin, already-healthy blood sugar levels and pancreatic health are intertwined!
Cardiovascular Health
- Promoting Heart Health: Lactoferrin could help keep your heart healthy, especially as you age.
Lactoferrin and Weight Management: Exploring the Connection
Lactoferrin's potential role in weight management is an area of growing interest. Several studies suggest a positive correlation between lactoferrin supplementation and weight loss.
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Animal Studies
- Weight Loss and Improved Metabolic Profile: In one study with rats, those given yogurt fortified with lactoferrin experienced weight loss, a better lipid profile and improved pancreatic function. Another animal study produced similar results, in addition to improving the liver, blood sugar levels and inflammatory response.
Human Studies
- Reduced Visceral Adiposity: Lactoferrin supplementation for 8 weeks has been shown to decrease visceral adiposity in overweight subjects without altering caloric intake.
Underlying Mechanisms
The mechanisms by which lactoferrin may contribute to weight loss are multifaceted:
- Modulation of Gut Microbiota: Dietary supplementation with lactoferrin has been reported to modulate gut microbiota.
- Reduction of Hepatic Lipidosis: Lactoferrin decreases hepatic lipid content and mesenteric fat without altering food intake, weight gain and body composition in mice.
- Improved Insulin Sensitivity: LF also increases the susceptibility of cells to the effects of insulin, including decreased response to insulin during inflammation, and it improved hepatic insulin resistance and pancreatic dysfunction.
Lactoferrin's Impact on Pancreatic Health and Obesity
Obesity is a risk factor for pancreatic diseases, including pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. On the other hand, the development of healthy aspects-based food products is a recent trend. Lactoferrin is a component of the body’s immune system, which interacts with DNA, RNA, polysaccharides, and heparin, and it has many biological functions and many important immunomodulatory properties.
Animals fed with a HFD showed a significant increase in body weight, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), glucose level, amylase, and Lipase enzymes (44.72%, 151.33 mg/dL, 142.67 mg/dL, 85.37 mg/dL, 141.33 mg/dL, 39.33 U/mL, 23.43 U/mL). Moreover, it observed a significant decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL, 37.33 mg/dL); meanwhile, SY fortified with lactoferrin was useful in losing weight gain and improving lipid profile, pancreas function, and histological change in the pancreas. The supplementation of lactoferrin at 100 mg/Kg bw with LB. Acidophilus as a probiotic was more effective for pancreas functions.
Lactoferrin and Inflammation in Pancreatitis
Recently, several studies provided strong evidence that trypsinogen activation is likely an important first step in the inflammatory cascade underlying pancreatitis and that persistent pancreatitis depends on cytokine activation associated with damage-associated molecular patterns by an innate factor revealing chronic inflammation and fibrosis.
The immune system plays a complex role in the progression of pancreatic cancer and the immune response is involved in pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, including the role of specific cytokines and implications for disease outcome. Acute pancreatitis is characterized by an innate immune response, while chronic pancreatitis causes an immune response involving both innate and adaptive immune cells. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is characterized by a dysfunction of the immune system caused by some types of immunosuppressive cells, defective or absent inflammatory cells, and tumor-promoting immune cells.
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Considerations for Lactoferrin Supplementation
Dosage
A recommended dosage of 300 mg of bovine lactoferrin is a good starting point. However, the right dosage of this powerful protein can also vary depending on your age, gender and any health conditions. In fact, a high lactoferrin dosage of up to 5 grams a day can be administered safely for up to 14 days. Some evidence suggests that up to 600 mg of bovine lactoferrin daily may help support your bodily defense against seasonal immune challenges.
Sources
Note that currently, you can't obtain a significant amount of lactoferrin from food. It comes from human milk, animal milk, and other bodily fluids.
Lifestyle Integration
Remember that all dietary supplements complement other healthy choices-they do not replace them! To keep your immune system healthy, it's vital that you eat nutrient-dense food that includes antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables (which are also a great source of another immune health powerhouse, vitamin C), drink plenty of water, get sufficient sleep, move your body and find healthy ways to manage stress. These choices-plus the proper supplementation-can make for a long, happy and healthy life.
Lactoferrin and Metabolic Syndrome
In recent years, lactoferrin (Lf), an iron glycoprotein of the innate immune system, has received a great deal of attention for being one of the most promising and powerful natural products that can defend the host against various pathological conditions, including infections, inflammatory disorders, and cancer.
Metabolic pathways are tightly regulated, and many pathological conditions, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer, are associated with abnormal metabolic states. Nutraceuticals, assumed as a food supplement, besides serving as dietary nutrients, can act as cis- or trans-regulators of the human metabolome. Many of these functions occur through both the direct regulation of receptor-mediated cellular signaling, mainly in enterocytes and infiltrating immune cells, and the indirect boosting of mucosal microbiota, thus potentially ameliorating intestinal barrier integrity and homeostasis.
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Physicochemical Characteristics and Biological Activity
Lf was first isolated from bovine milk in 1939 and later identified in human milk in 1960. Lf is constitutively synthesized by exocrine glands and neutrophils following induction. Its highest concentrations are found in colostrum and milk, with lower levels in secretory fluids. Human Lf (hLf) and bovine Lf (bLf) consist of 691 and 689 amino acid residues, respectively. Both reveal two symmetrical lobes, namely the N-lobe and C-lobe, connected by a short α-helix. Each lobe is further divided into two sub-lobes or domains, known as N1, N2, C1, and C2. These domains form a cleft in which the ferric ion (Fe3+) is tightly bound in coordination with a (bi)carbonate anion. Each lobe binds the ferric ion with high affinity through highly conserved residues: two tyrosines, an aspartic acid, and a histidine.
Iron-Binding State and Biological Functions
Iron binding induces large conformational changes that define the open (iron unsaturated, apo-Lf) or closed (iron saturated, holo-Lf) state. Native Lf (nat-Lf) has a low rate of iron saturation (~10-20%), while holo-Lf is highly saturated, with more than 95% iron. The iron-binding state of Lf can influence some of its functions. Compared with the apo form, holo-Lf has greater stability and resistance to thermal denaturation and protease digestion.
Apo-Lf appears to be more effective in the antioxidant response by virtue of its ability to sequester ferric ions (Fe3+), thus protecting against the damaging effects of oxidative stress, specifically by limiting the production of hydroxyl radicals and peroxidized lipids. Iron-saturated Lf exhibits superior antitumor property compared with low-iron apo-Lf.
Glycosylation and Biological Functions
The biological function of Lf is also affected by glycosylation, the most common post-translational modification (PTM) that affects protein folding, immunogenicity, protein solubility, and resistance to proteolysis. The glycosylation status can change depending on the species, the cell type expressing the glycoprotein, the amino acid sequence, physiological conditions, and the purification strategy.
Bioavailability and Routes of Administration
The bioavailability of Lf represents a unique biological challenge, because mammals have variable exposure to endogenous Lf during different life stages. In healthy individuals, Lf concentrations in the blood are relatively low, ranging from 0.02 to 1.52 µg/mL, whereas in cases of infection, inflammation, excessive iron intake, or tumor growth, Lf levels may increase. Several routes of administration have been explored, with oral administration being the most practical and safe approach.
The initial absorption of Lf occurs through specific Lf receptors of the intestinal brush border. Lf passes from the stomach into the blood through epithelial cells by endocytosis, mainly via Peyer’s patches. Once in the intestine, Lf can interact with its receptor and be internalized by enterocytes, then partially carried into the bloodstream and delivered to tissues. Lf can also be reabsorbed by bile or transported to the central nervous system (CNS) via the cerebrospinal fluid and across the blood-brain barrier. Blood Lf is cleared from the circulation by the liver, primarily by hepatocytes but also by Kupffer cells and the liver endothelium.
Lactoferrin Receptors
Intelectin 1 (ITLN1) is a lectin located on the brush-border membrane of the small intestine that plays a role in the innate immune response and also acts as a high affinity receptor for Lf. Moreover, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) can bind multiple targets including Lf, and it is principally expressed in hepatocytes, neurons, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, and cholangiocytes. Other types of LfRs have been characterized, including the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) in liver, CD14 in monocytes, and nucleolin in lymphocytes. The existence of multiple receptors arguably underpins the substantial and widespread effects that Lf can exert.
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