Volume 91, Issue 4, April (2004), pp. 533-538 © The Author 2004
doi:10.1079/BJN20041090

Bovine lactoferrin reduces plasma triacylglycerol and NEFA accompanied by decreased hepatic cholesterol and triacylglycerol contents in rodents

Takashi Takeuchi¹, Hirohiko Shimizu², Kunio Ando² and Etsumori Harada^1
1Department of Veterinary Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori 680-0945, Japan
²NRL Pharma. Inc., Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-0012, Japan

 (Received 17 September 2003–Revised 16 December 2003–Accepted 18 December 2003)

In the present study we examined whether oral administration of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) reduces plasma or hepatic triacylglycerol and cholesterol in mice. When bLF mixed with a standard commercial diet (10g/kg) was given to mice for 4 weeks, plasma triacylglycerol and NEFA decreased, while plasma HDL-cholesterol levels increased (P<0·01). These changes in plasma lipid profiles were accompanied by significant decreases in hepatic cholesterol and triacylglycerol contents. When mice were fed a high-fat diet containing 300·0g lard, 10·0g cholesterol and 2·5g bovine bile powder/kg for 4 weeks, bovine LF did not have any significant effects on plasma or hepatic cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations. Furthermore, bLF had no significant effects on faecal excretion of total bile acids in mice. Interestingly, bLF showed a suppressive effect on the lymphatic triacylglycerol absorption in chronically treated rats. We conclude that bLF has a beneficial effect on plasma cholesterol levels and retards hepatic lipid accumulation in mice fed a standard diet.

Keywords:
Lactoferrin, Triacylglycerol, Hypercholesterolaemia, Cholesterol accumulation

Abbreviations:
bLF, bovine lactoferrin, HF, high fat, LRP, lipoprotein receptor protein