Lactoferrin Food & Beverage Applications
A functional protein ingredient
What Food & Beverage applications are suitable for lactoferrin?
Lactoferrin works well across a wide variety of food and beverage applications. Only a small amount of this mighty protein fraction is required for functional benefits (100mg-1000mg, depending on the desired benefit) providing product formulators with a flexible ingredient to give consumers the benefits they demand.From ready-to-drink and ready-to-mix beverages, to gummies and supplements, lactoferrin can help provide products with a functional competitive edge.
Help your product stand out on store shelves with functional claims that modern consumers expect. With a low inclusion rate and high flexibility in food and beverage applications, lactoferrin offers formulators
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- High levels of bioactive components
- Rich in BCAAs
- Immune system support
- Improves iron status
- Promotes positive gut health
- Increases antioxidant capacity
- Promotes eye & skin health
What mechanisms drive lactoferrin’s functional benefits?
Part of the mechanism is believed to be lactoferrin’s ability to bind iron, meaning it competes with the bacteria for iron inhibiting the microbe’s growth. Another potential mechanism responsible for lactoferrin’s antimicrobial activity is that it binds to the bacteria, therefore stopping it from binding to cells inside the body.
Lactoferrin has also been suggested to have a prebiotic benefit in the large intestine. Upon digestion of lactoferrin, bioactive peptides are released, which have been shown to enhance the growth of bifidobacteria. This may be another mechanism by which this unique whey protein fraction exerts an immunomodulatory benefit, as the gut microbiome is known to influence immune function.
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- As an iron-binding protein, meaning it competes with the bacteria for iron and thus helps inhibit its’ growth.
- Binding to the bacteria, therefore stopping it from binding to cells inside the body. (Salaris et al, 2021; Hu et al, 2021).
- Binding to receptors on the host cells, thus competing with viruses for cell adhesion and blocking them from binding to and entering the host cell (Lönnerdal, 2009).
- Having a prebiotic effect from several bioactive peptides released during digestion (Liepke et al, 2002)
