Women's Health – The Benefits of Lactoferrin

Throughout their lives, women experience several periods that require particular attention and that sometimes interfere with their metabolism: menstrual cycles, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and so on. Women are thus generally more prone to infections or diseases, and will therefore need to consult with various healthcare professionals. Fortunately, there are now solutions to alleviate these ailments and live long, healthy lives.

Protection against the risk of anemia

Almost 30% of women aged 15-49 suffer from anemia¹. Anemia – characterized by a decrease in the number of red blood cells – can cause various symptoms, including fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, headaches, chills and even digestive problems. Iron supplementation is often recommended.

As such, dietary supplements are generally prescribed for people suffering from anemia. However, due to iron's low bioavailability, it is hard for the body to absorb. Excessive supplementation can lead to intestinal problems, inflammation and oxidative stress.

To avoid these disorders, it may instead be beneficial to increase the absorption of iron consumed as part of a normal daily diet through innovative molecules with no side effects, such as lactoferrin.

Risk of anemia during pregnancy

In pregnant women, the risk of anemia is very real and can represent a genuine danger. Anemia increases the risk of premature birth or miscarriage, and can cause developmental impairment in infants. These pre- and neonatal periods are all the more critical as infants are very vulnerable, due to their immature immune systems.²

An immune response is triggered when faced with an infection. This response serves to remove foreign bodies, such as viruses or pathogens, from our organisms. Lactoferrin – which boasts immunomodulatory properties that are beneficial to health – is involved in the maturation, activation and proliferation of various immune cells via the receptors on the surface of these cells.

Newborns also acquire antibodies transferred passively by their mothers through the placenta, mainly during the third trimester, which help to develop their immune system. This means that premature infants are not able to benefit from this complete immune protection.  

In addition, in pregnant women, the causal link between infection, inflammation and premature birth is now proven. Inflammation can indeed cause severe damage to the body. Today, more than 1/3 of premature births are linked to inflammation of the fetal membranes.³

Lactoferrin is also capable of modulating the inflammatory process, activating the signaling pathways that induce an anti-inflammatory response. Furthermore, vaginal administration of lactoferrin reduces inflammation and amniotic interleukin-6 levels.⁵ This pro-inflammatory cytokine is now known to be associated with complications during pregnancy, and the risk of premature birth in particular.

Lactoferrin and vaginal health

3 out of 4 women will be affected by a vaginal infection at least once in their lifetime.⁴ Bacterial vaginoses are characterized by an alteration of the vaginal microbiota. This infection will affect almost 1 in 2 women worldwide at some point in their lives. Its symptoms can be very unpleasant, including irritation and itching.

In pregnant women, this form of vaginosis can be associated with a risk of premature birth, hence the need to treat it quickly. Antibiotic treatments are commonly prescribed to treat these infections. However, the use of antibiotics sometimes leads to microbial resistance, and thus a recurrence of the infection. "Recent" studies have shown that lactoferrin can reduce the symptoms and recurrence of infections for vaginosis and candidosis.⁶

Lactoferrin is an exceptionally interesting protein that makes it possible to reduce the risk of anemia without creating complications often associated with iron supplementation, and that offers an alternative solution to antibiotics for bacterial vaginal infections.

¹ https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/anaemia_in_women_and_children

² https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00831600/document

³https://www.mapar.org/article/1/Communication%20MAPAR/isin57ih/Inflammation%20maternelle%20et%20cons%C3%A9quences%20f%C5%93tales-n%C3%A9onatales.pdf

⁴ https://sante.lefigaro.fr/article/mycose-vaginale-une-verite-qui-demange/

⁵ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24642648/