Title:Lactoferrin as a Potent Natural Supplement Exhibiting a Synergistic Effect
with Drugs in Antimicrobial and Anticancer Therapies
Volume: 22
Issue: 9
Author(s): Przemysław Gajda-Morszewski and Małgorzata Brindell*
Affiliation:
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Gronostajowa 2,
30-387 Kraków, Poland
Keywords:
Lactoferrin, synergism, antimicrobial, anticancer, mechanism of activity, modulation of iron accessibility, immunomodulation.
Abstract: For many years, natural products have played a crucial role in drug discovery and drug
design as a source of active agents or as inspiration. Lactoferrin (Lf), a glycoprotein found in milk
and mammalian secretions, has been extensively studied in recent years, and numerous antimicrobial,
anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties of Lf have been demonstrated in the literature.
The use of lactoferrin as a co-agent or supplement to enhance the beneficial effect of drugs, or to reduce
their side effects, arouses the interest of many researchers, especially since Lf is a well-studied,
biocompatible, cheap, and easily accessible protein. In this mini-review, we focus on the
elucidation of the role of Lf in antimicrobial or anticancer therapies, pointing to the possible mechanism
underlying the determined synergism between Lf and commonly used drugs.
