Lactoferrin in milk and colostrum by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Lactoferrin supplement
Lactoferrin is a globular protein with antimicrobial activity. Lactoferrin is found in the human body and is also found in milk and colostrum. Lactoferrin is found in bovine colostrum.
Source of lactoferrin
Lactoferrin is found in milk and mucosal
secretions such as tears and saliva. Human colostrum has the highest
concentration, followed by human milk, then cow milk.
Lactoferrin for athlete's foot
Oral administration of bovine lactoferrin for treatment of tinea
pedis. A placebo-controlled, double-blind study.
Mycoses. 2000;43(5):197-202.
A clinical study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of
lactoferrin, which is a protein component of cow's milk, in the treatment
of athlete's foot. Doses of either 600 mg or 2000 mg of lactoferrin, or a
placebo was orally administered daily for 8 weeks to 37 adults who were
judged to have mild or moderate athlete's foot. In the analysis limited to
subjects with moderate vesicular or interdigital athlete's foot,
dermatological symptoms scores in the lactoferrin-treated groups decreased
significantly in comparison with the placebo group. The organisms isolated
were Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. A mycological
cure was not seen in any of the subjects.These results suggest that orally
administered lactoferrin can improve the dermatological symptoms in some
subjects with athlete's foot. The potential usefulness of lactoferrin as a
functional food material for treating athlete's foot was seen for the
first time in this study.