Counteracts Coronavirus

“As there is currently neither an established treatment regimen for COVID-19 nor an established preventative for SARS-CoV-2 infection, one can contemplate the use of [lactoferring] both as a non-toxic health supplement to prevent the infection as well as an adjunct treatment for those who have developed COVID-19,” say the investigators in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Research.

“Its successful combined use to enhance conventional antiviral drug treatments in viral disease has been demonstrated against [hepatiti-C virus] as well as in a recent study against SARS-CoV-2, and its potential to reduce mortality due to cytokine-induced inflammation and respiratory failure in severe COVID-19 is also suggested by laboratory, animal and clinical studies. Furthermore, [latoferrin] possesses unique immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects that may be especially relevant to the pathophysiology of severe COVID-19 cases.

“Lactoferrin could counteract the coronavirus infection and inflammation, acting either as natural barrier of both respiratory and intestinal mucosa or reverting the iron disorders related to the viral colonization.” Additional clinical trials have begun at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and at the University of Cairo. The current treatment approaches to COVID-19 have so far proved to be inadequate, and a potent antiviral drug or effective vaccine are yet to be discovered and eagerly awaited.

The immediate priority is to harness innate immunity in order to accelerate early antiviral immune responses. This is an early study assessing the use of lactoferrin in the management of COVID-19 infection.

Lactoferrin-Rich Food

Because BC supplies other immune factors such as regulatory peptides and immunoglobulins involved with protection from coronaviruses its use during the pandemic is fundamental to health. As the mother cow's milk transitions from colostrum to regular milk, the amount of lactoferrin decreases. Six-hour colostrum, harvested only from leftover supplies after the calf has been fully fed, is especially rich in lactoferrin.