Milk derivative bovine Lactoferrin (bLf), a multifunctional glycoprotein available in large quantities and recognized as safe, possesses high homology and identical functions with human Lactoferrin. There are numerous food supplements containing bLf which, however, can vary in its purity, integrity and, consequently, functionality. Here, we report on a clinical trial where bLf (100 mg two times/day) was orally administered before (Arm A) or during meals (Arm B) to pregnant women with hereditary thrombophilia and suffering from anemia of inflammation. A significant increase of the number of red blood cells (RBCs), hemoglobin (Hb), total serum iron (TSI) and serum ferritin (sFtn) levels, along with a significant decrease of interleukin-6 were detected after 30 days in Arm A, but not in Arm B, thus letting us to hypothesize that bLf inefficacy could be related to its degradation by digestive proteases. To verify this hypothesis, bLf was incubated in gastric juice collected before or after meals. An undigested or a digested profile was observed when bLf was incubated in gastric juice sampled before or after meals, respectively. These results can explain the beneficial effect observed when bLf is administered under fasting conditions, i.e. in the absence of active proteases.

牛奶衍生物牛乳铁蛋白（bLf）是一种大量可用的多功能糖蛋白，被认为是安全的，与人类乳铁蛋白具有高度同源性和相同功能。有许多含有bLf的食品补充剂，但是它们的纯度，完整性和功能可能会有所不同。在这里，我们报道了一项临床试验，其中在患有遗传性血友病和炎症性贫血的孕妇之前（Arm A）或进餐期间（Arm B）口服给予bLf（每天两次100 mg）。在A组中放置30天后，检测到红细胞（RBC），血红蛋白（Hb），总血清铁（TSI）和血清铁蛋白（sFtn）水平的显着增加，以及白介素6的显着降低，但不在手臂B中，因此，我们可以假设bLf无效可能与其被消化蛋白酶降解有关。为了验证这一假设，将bLf在饭前或饭后收集的胃液中孵育。当bLf在进餐前或进餐后的胃液中孵育时，未观察到消化或消化情况。这些结果可以解释在禁食条件下（即在没有活性蛋白酶的情况下）施用bLf时观察到的有益效果。