Can Lactoferrin, a Natural Mammalian Milk Protein, Assist in the Battle against COVID-19?
Notwithstanding mass vaccination against specific SARS-CoV-2 variants, there is still a demand for complementary nutritional intervention strategies to fight COVID-19. The bovine milk protein lactoferrin (LF) has attracted interest of nutraceutical, food and dairy industries for its numerous propert...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/24/5274 |
| _version_ | 1797455877309988864 |
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| author | Alexandra Wilhelmina Carla Einerhand Carolien Annika van Loo-Bouwman Gisela Adrienne Weiss Caiyun Wang Genna Ba Qicheng Fan Baoping He Gerrit Smit |
| author_facet | Alexandra Wilhelmina Carla Einerhand Carolien Annika van Loo-Bouwman Gisela Adrienne Weiss Caiyun Wang Genna Ba Qicheng Fan Baoping He Gerrit Smit |
| author_sort | Alexandra Wilhelmina Carla Einerhand |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Notwithstanding mass vaccination against specific SARS-CoV-2 variants, there is still a demand for complementary nutritional intervention strategies to fight COVID-19. The bovine milk protein lactoferrin (LF) has attracted interest of nutraceutical, food and dairy industries for its numerous properties—ranging from anti-viral and anti-microbial to immunological—making it a potential functional ingredient in a wide variety of food applications to maintain health. Importantly, bovine LF was found to exert anti-viral activities against several types of viruses, including certain SARS-CoV-2 variants. LF’s potential effect on COVID-19 patients has seen a rapid increase of in vitro and in vivo studies published, resulting in a model on how LF might play a role during different phases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Aim of this narrative review is two-fold: (1) to highlight the most relevant findings concerning LF’s anti-viral, anti-microbial, iron-binding, immunomodulatory, microbiota-modulatory and intestinal barrier properties that support health of the two most affected organs in COVID-19 patients (lungs and gut), and (2) to explore the possible underlying mechanisms governing its mode of action. Thanks to its potential effects on health, bovine LF can be considered a good candidate for nutritional interventions counteracting SARS-CoV-2 infection and related COVID-19 pathogenesis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:00:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b14f0e5393e480094bd06b4b106f88c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:00:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b14f0e5393e480094bd06b4b106f88c2023-11-24T17:08:28ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432022-12-011424527410.3390/nu14245274Can Lactoferrin, a Natural Mammalian Milk Protein, Assist in the Battle against COVID-19?Alexandra Wilhelmina Carla Einerhand0Carolien Annika van Loo-Bouwman1Gisela Adrienne Weiss2Caiyun Wang3Genna Ba4Qicheng Fan5Baoping He6Gerrit Smit7Einerhand Science & Innovation, 1815 JN Alkmaar, The NetherlandsYili Innovation Center Europe, 6708 WH Wageningen, The NetherlandsYili Innovation Center Europe, 6708 WH Wageningen, The NetherlandsInner Mongolia Dairy Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., Hohhot 010110, ChinaInner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd., Hohhot 010110, ChinaInner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd., Hohhot 010110, ChinaInner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd., Hohhot 010110, ChinaYili Innovation Center Europe, 6708 WH Wageningen, The NetherlandsNotwithstanding mass vaccination against specific SARS-CoV-2 variants, there is still a demand for complementary nutritional intervention strategies to fight COVID-19. The bovine milk protein lactoferrin (LF) has attracted interest of nutraceutical, food and dairy industries for its numerous properties—ranging from anti-viral and anti-microbial to immunological—making it a potential functional ingredient in a wide variety of food applications to maintain health. Importantly, bovine LF was found to exert anti-viral activities against several types of viruses, including certain SARS-CoV-2 variants. LF’s potential effect on COVID-19 patients has seen a rapid increase of in vitro and in vivo studies published, resulting in a model on how LF might play a role during different phases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Aim of this narrative review is two-fold: (1) to highlight the most relevant findings concerning LF’s anti-viral, anti-microbial, iron-binding, immunomodulatory, microbiota-modulatory and intestinal barrier properties that support health of the two most affected organs in COVID-19 patients (lungs and gut), and (2) to explore the possible underlying mechanisms governing its mode of action. Thanks to its potential effects on health, bovine LF can be considered a good candidate for nutritional interventions counteracting SARS-CoV-2 infection and related COVID-19 pathogenesis.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/24/5274lactoferrinnutraceuticalfooddairyCOVID-19coronavirus |
| spellingShingle | Alexandra Wilhelmina Carla Einerhand Carolien Annika van Loo-Bouwman Gisela Adrienne Weiss Caiyun Wang Genna Ba Qicheng Fan Baoping He Gerrit Smit Can Lactoferrin, a Natural Mammalian Milk Protein, Assist in the Battle against COVID-19? Nutrients lactoferrin nutraceutical food dairy COVID-19 coronavirus |
| title | Can Lactoferrin, a Natural Mammalian Milk Protein, Assist in the Battle against COVID-19? |
| title_full | Can Lactoferrin, a Natural Mammalian Milk Protein, Assist in the Battle against COVID-19? |
| title_fullStr | Can Lactoferrin, a Natural Mammalian Milk Protein, Assist in the Battle against COVID-19? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can Lactoferrin, a Natural Mammalian Milk Protein, Assist in the Battle against COVID-19? |
| title_short | Can Lactoferrin, a Natural Mammalian Milk Protein, Assist in the Battle against COVID-19? |
| title_sort | can lactoferrin a natural mammalian milk protein assist in the battle against covid 19 |
| topic | lactoferrin nutraceutical food dairy COVID-19 coronavirus |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/24/5274 |
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