Can Lactoferrin, a Natural Mammalian Milk Protein, Assist in the Battle against COVID-19?

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 14; no. 24; p. 5274
• Main Authors: Einerhand, Alexandra Wilhelmina Carla, van Loo-Bouwman, Carolien Annika, Weiss, Gisela Adrienne, Wang, Caiyun, Ba, Genna, Fan, Qicheng, He, Baoping, Smit, Gerrit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-12-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Aging; Animals; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Antiviral agents; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Breast milk; Breastfeeding & lactation; Cattle; Chemical properties; coronavirus; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; Cow's milk; Cytokine storm; dairy; Disease transmission; food; Food industry; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Health aspects; Hemoglobin; Humans; Immune system; Immunology; Immunomodulation; In vivo methods and tests; Infections; Inflammation; Lactoferrin; Lactoferrin - pharmacology; Lactoferrins; Lungs; Malnutrition; Microorganisms; Milk; Mode of action; Neutrophils; nutraceutical; Pandemics; Pathogenesis; Physiological aspects; Proteins; Review; SARS-CoV-2 - metabolism; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Vaccination; Viruses; Netherlands; United States > US; China; COVID-19; immunomodulation; SARS-CoV-2; anti-viral; iron-binding; nutraceutical; lactoferrin; coronavirus; dairy; food
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu14245274

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.