Milk contains a variety of healthy peptides and proteins that have been studied for several decades now. Lactoferrin is one of the most beneficial of these proteins. Allow us to explain...
Lactoferrin impacts on the immune system and during inflammatory response. It also has an antioxidant effect and helps fight some pathogenic micro-organisms.
Lactoferrin was first extracted from cow's milk in 1939, and then from breast milk in 1960 (Sørensen, 1939, Johanson, 1960, Montreuil et al., 1960, Berlutti et al., 2011). Lactoferrin is a nonheme iron-binding protein. It is a member of the transferrin protein family along with ovotransferrin, melanotransferrin and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (Gonzalez-Chavez et al., 2009).
Structurally speaking, lactoferrin is an 80-kDa glycoprotein made up of around 690 amino acid residues. The molecule is composed of two lobes connected by a peptide that forms an alpha-helix structure, as shown on Figure 1. Each of the two lactoferrin lobes are divided into two sections and bind to Fe3+ ion (Berlutti et al., 2011).
From a chemical standpoint, lactoferrin can reversibly chelate two Fe3+ ions per molecule. This reaction is made possible thanks to the high affinity between lactoferrin and iron ions. It can retain iron at pH 3, while other proteins in the transferrin family have a lower affinity (iron release at pH 5.5) (Berlutti et al., 2011). Lactoferrin can bind to other metallic ions (Cu, Zn, Mn) but with lower affinity (Berlutti et al., 2011).
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Sources:
Barrington K et al, The Lacuna Trial: a double-blind randomized controlled pilot trial of lactoferrin supplementation in the very preterm infant, J Perinatol. 2016 Aug;36(8):666-9.
Chen K et al, Effect of bovine lactoferrin from iron-fortified formulas on diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections of weaned infants in a randomized controlled trial, Nutrition. 2016 Feb;32(2):222-7
Lauterbach R et al., Lactoferrin - a glycoprotein of great therapeutic potentials, Dev Period Med. 2016 Apr-Jun;20(2):118-25.
Wang B et al, Molecular Determinants of Milk Lactoferrin as a Bioactive Compound in Early Neurodevelopment and Cognition. J Pediatr. 2016 Jun;173 Suppl:S29-36.