Naidu AS (2000). Lactoferrin: natural, multifunctional, antimicrobial. Boca Raton: CRC Press. pp.1–2. ISBN 978-0-8493-0909-0.

Lactoferrin's primary role is to sequester free iron, and in doing so remove essential substrate required for bacterial growth. [40] Antibacterial action of lactoferrin is also explained by the presence of specific receptors on the cell surface of microorganisms. Lactoferrin binds to lipopolysaccharide of bacterial walls, and the oxidized iron part of the lactoferrin oxidizes bacteria via formation of peroxides. This affects the membrane permeability and results in the cell breakdown ( lysis). [40]Ishibashi Y, Takeda K, Tsukidate N, et al. Randomized placebo-controlled trial of interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin with and without lactoferrin for chronic hepatitis C. Hepatol Res 2005;32:218-23. View abstract. Kuipers ME, de Vries HG, Eikelboom MC, Meijer DK, Swart PJ (November 1999). "Synergistic fungistatic effects of lactoferrin in combination with antifungal drugs against clinical Candida isolates". Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 43 (11): 2635–41. doi: 10.1128/AAC.43.11.2635. PMC 89536. PMID 10543740. Guttner Y, Windsor HM, Viiala CH, Marshall BJ. Human recombinant lactoferrin is ineffective in the treatment of human Helicobacter pylori infection. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2003;17:125-9. View abstract. Ha così dimostrato di avere effetti positivi sul turnover osseo, aiutando a diminuire il riassorbimento minerale e ad aumentando il deposito. Ciòè stato dimostrato da una diminuzione dei livelli di due marker di riassorbimento osseo ( deossipiridinolina e N-telopeptide) e da un aumento dei livelli di due marker di formazione ossea ( osteocalcina e fosfatasi alcalina) – studio: Milk ribonuclease-enriched lactoferrin induces positive effects on bone turnover markers in postmenopausal women.

Motoki N, Mizuki M, Tsukahara T, et al. Effects of lactoferrin-fortified formula on acute gastrointestinal symptoms in children aged 12-32 months: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Front Pediatr. 2020 May 19;8:233. View abstract. Berthon BS, Williams LM, Williams EJ, Wood LG. Effect of Lactoferrin Supplementation on Inflammation, Immune Function, and Prevention of Respiratory Tract Infections in Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Adv Nutr 2022;13(5):1799-1819. View abstract. SK organized the general content of the paper. EB and FE were responsible for general editing and organizing the authors as well as the contribution for two sections. MK, HD, and AA contributed one section of the paper. SS and AŞ were responsible for editing and organizing the paper. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. Funding

Due to those specialties of Lf, several clinical trials and treatment applications were developed for COVID-19 disease during the last couple of years ( 78, 79). Macciò A, Madeddu C, Gramignano G, Mulas C, Sanna E, Mantovani G. Efficacy and safety of oral lactoferrin supplementation in combination with rHuEPO-beta for the treatment of anemia in advanced cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: open-label, randomized controlled study. Oncologist. 2010;15(8):894-902. View abstract. a b c d Sojar HT, Hamada N, Genco RJ (January 1998). "Structures involved in the interaction of Porphyromonas gingivalis fimbriae and human lactoferrin". FEBS Letters. 422 (2): 205–8. doi: 10.1016/S0014-5793(98)00002-7. PMID 9490007. S2CID 25875928. Ha inoltre ridotto la formazione di osteoclasti, il che indica una diminuzione delle risposte pro-infiammatorie e un aumento delle risposte antinfiammatorie, traducendo per la riduzione del riassorbimento osseo ( Inflammatory responses improve with milk ribonuclease-enriched lactoferrin supplementation in postmenopausal women). Interazione con gli acidi nucleici

Regarding Lf's antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2, some significant studies have been conducted based on the analysis of different parameters ( 73, 81, 101, 102). In one of these in-vivo studies, 75 patients with a positive result at IgM/IgG rapid test have participated. Each patient took liposomal bLf syrup (32 mg of Lf/10 ml) with four to six doses, each dose containing 10 mg/10 ml syrup, every day for 10 days. The patients who were given syrup were observed for 10 days at least twice a day then they were investigated again after 30 days. As a result of the investigation, Lf treatment had shown a positive effect and all patients had a faster recovery when compared with the control group ( 81). A study, oral and intranasal liposomal bLf were tested in 92 patients with mild, moderate severity, or asymptomatic COVID-19 ( 73). The patients were divided into three groups in total with 32 patients in the first, 28 patients in the second, and 32 patients in the third group. The patients in the first group were given the capsules and nasal sprays three times per day. In the first group, 14 out of 32 patients were treated at the hospital. The remaining 18 patients were treated with oral capsules (100 mg) and intranasal (8 mg/ml) bLf at home. The 28 patients in the second group were kept under surveillance at home without any anti-COVID-19 drug. During the monitoring, the condition of four patients worsened and they were hospitalized. Finally, the third group with 32 patients was treated in the hospital with hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir (SOC). The third group of patients took two capsules (200/50 mg) of lopinavir twice and hydroxychloroquine (200 mg) capsules per day, respectively. According to the results, in the group treated with liposomal bLf, the COVID-19 PCR test of individuals was negative after an average of 14.25 ± 6.0 days. In addition, the group of patients treated with SOC was negative for the COVID-19 PCR test after a mean of 27.13 ± 14.4 days. On the other hand, patients who were not treated in any way were negative for COVID-19 PCR tests at the end of 32.61 ± 12.2 days. Furthermore, symptoms such as coughing, headache, inability to smell (anosmia), and myalgia had developed in patients treated with SOC at the end of the study, whereas patients treated with bLf had not. Normally, COVID-19 patients have a high level of IL-6. When bLf was used to treat COVID-19 patients, IL-6 levels had significantly reduced until the end of the study, and similarly, the same reductions had been observed in D-dimer serum and ferritin levels. Conclusion Rogan MP, Geraghty P, Greene CM, O'Neill SJ, Taggart CC, McElvaney NG (February 2006). "Antimicrobial proteins and polypeptides in pulmonary innate defence". Respiratory Research. 7 (1): 29. doi: 10.1186/1465-9921-7-29. PMC 1386663. PMID 16503962. {{ cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI ( link) Farnaud S, Evans RW. Lactoferrin--a multifunctional protein with antimicrobial properties. Mol Immunol 2003;40:395-405. View abstract. Ecem Bolat 1 Furkan Eker 1 Merve Kaplan 1 Hatice Duman 1 Ayşenur Arslan 1 Sümeyye Saritaş 1 Arif Sercan Şahutoğlu 2 Sercan Karav 1 *In particolare, secondo un vecchio studio intitolato " RNase inhibition of reverse transcriptase activity in human milk", distruggendo il genoma dell'RNA, la RNasi del latte inibisce la trascrizione inversa dei retrovirus che causano il cancro al seno (osservato prima di tutto nei topi).