Prospects of lactoferrin as potential natural antibiotic

Abstract

Lactoferrin's iron-binding capacity makes it undoubtedly advantageous to immune system modulation and different bacterial strains. The aim of this study was to explore the possibilities of using the milk protein as an antimicrobial agent. For the current study, four raw and seventeen commercially available milk samples were collected from different farms and supermarkets in Bangladesh. The presence of lactoferrin was confirmed using SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis. Lactoferrin from Goat milk and Milk Vita commercial milk was recovered from SDS-PAGE gel and purified using the dialysis method. The concentration of purified protein was determined by NanoDrop technology. Then, the purified lactoferrin was tested for its antimicrobial activity against 18 bacterial strains. Interestingly, Vibrio cholerae, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus pneumoniae significantly displayed sensitivity against lactoferrin extracted from the aforementioned milk samples. This study suggested that lactoferrin has the potential to be used as an alternative to antibiotics for many diseases and also can be used to reduce microbial deterioration in the food industry.