Lactoferrin: The Bioactive Peptide that Fights Disease by Will Brink
As regular readers of the Life Extension magazine are aware, whey protein appears to function as a natural food against cancer, HIV, overtraining syndrome in athletes and a host of pathologies. In particular, whey’s effects on glutathione levels and immunity are well documented in many animal studies with a growing number of human studies confirming the results with animals. Whey is one of two major proteins found in milk (the other being casein). When we talk about whey we are actually referring to a complex protein made up of many smaller protein subfractions (peptides), including beta-lactoglobulin, alpha-lactalbumin, immunoglobulins (IgGs), glycomacropeptides, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and minor peptides such as lactoperoxidases, lysozyme and lactoferrin. Each of the subfractions found in whey has its own unique biological properties. Up until quite recently, separating these subfractions on a large scale was either impossible or prohibitively expensive. Modern filtering technology has improved dramatically in the past few years allowing a handful of companies to separate some of the highly bioactive peptides from whey, such as lactoferrin. Many of these subfractions are only found in very minute amounts in cows milk, normally at less than 1%. For example, lactoferrin makes up approximately 0.5% – 1% or less of whey protein derived from cows milk (where as human mothers milk will contain up to 15% lactoferrin). Lactoferrin appears to be the subfraction of whey with documented anti-viral, anti-microbial, anti-cancer and immune modulating/enhancing effects. There is little doubt that lactoferrin could become the natural compound of choice in the treatment and prevention of a host of human ailments. To follow is a summary of what lactoferrin might have to offer.
Found in human mothers milk, lactoferrin appears to have a wide variety of uses in biological systems and is considered a first line immune defense in the human body.
Immunity – A minor fraction of whey, lactoferrin appears to have a wide variety of uses in biological systems and is considered a first line immune defense in the human body. Though a natural component of cows and human mothers milk, lactoferrin is found throughout the human body and occurs in all secretions that bathe mucous membranes such as saliva, tears, bronchial and nasal secretions, hepatic bile, pancreatic fluids, and is an essential factor in the immune response. Lactoferrin is concentrated in oral cavities where it will come in direct contact with pathogens (i.e. viruses, bacteria, etc.) and kills or greatly suppresses these pathogens through a variety of different mechanisms. Exactly how lactoferrin exerts all of its immune modulating or immune enhancing functions is not entirely clear, but it is known to enhance the immune response both directly and indirectly (passively) in response to a wide range of immune challenges. Specific receptors for lactoferrin are found on many key immune cells such as lymphocytes, monocytes and macrophages, and is known to be directly involved in the upregulation of natural killer (NK) cell activity. Most research points to lactoferrin as being more of an immune modulator rather than a simple immune stimulant.
Published studies that have examined the use of lactoferrin as a supplement and its effects on immunity have been quite promising. Research using various animals models (i.e., rats, sheep, pigs and cats, as well as others) has found the ingestion of lactoferrin to have direct protective effects on the regulation and modulation of the immune system.
For example, one study that examined the immune response to an endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide) known to cause severe septic shock found that feeding lactoferrin to mice dramatically reduced the lethality of this endotoxin while improving immune response parameters.1. Another study with baby pigs found only 17% of the pigs died when fed lactoferrin and injected with the endotoxin escherichia coli as opposed to 74% of the pigs that died without the lactoferrin!2. This could be a major finding, as septic shock is the most frequent cause of death for intensive care patients and the 13th leading cause of death in the United States. Two studies using healthy human volunteers found the ingestion of lactoferrin derived from cows milk had positive immunoregulatory effects that were specific to the individual. That is, depending on the initial profile of the immune system of each person, lactoferrin ingestion augmented the immune response, leading the researchers to conclude “- the data suggests that bovine (cows) lactoferrin may be applied in the clinic to improve the immune status of the patients.”3. A similar human study using ten people who ingested lactoferrin concluded “these results suggest that lactoferrin administration may influence the primary activation of the host defense system.”4.
Lactoferrin appears to be particularly important in the health and function of the intestinal tract and has been found to greatly reduce systemic and intestinal inflammation in such conditions as inflammatory bowel disease and others. Animals subjected to a variety of pathogens known to cause both systemic and intestinal inflammation and damage show much greater resistance and reduced inflammation when fed lactoferrin. The gastrointestinal tract must be viewed as an ecologic system in which a balance between both good and bad bacterial flora (micro flora) exists. An overgrowth of bad bacteria in the intestinal tract is known to cause a wide range of sever problems that cause a myriad of pro-inflammatory mediators to be released, causing disruptions throughout the entire body.
When fed to adult animals and human infants, lactoferrin showed a dramatic increase in good micro flora-such as bifidus-and a decrease in bad bacteria, such as E. coli, streptococcus, clostridium and others. The result was desirable intestinal flora, which is known to be essential for optimal health, immunity and resistance to disease. An extensive review that examined the role of lactoferrin in inflammation and the health of the intestinal tract stated, “The possibility that lactoferrin limits the autodestructive inflammatory response presents a new alternative for the future management of systemic inflammation.”5 Some research also suggests that lactoferrin is able to stimulate intestinal cell growth and may lead to better digestive functions, in addition to its ability to enhance the growth of “good” microflora in the intestine. There is little doubt that in addition to its immunomodulating effects, this natural peptide derived from whey has powerful pro-biotic properties.
