Antiviral activity of lactoferrin: a focus on hepatitis C chronic

Abstract

Introduction: The Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the main causes of chronic liver disease in the world, and despite having a treatment with sustained virologic response rate, this therapy is not resolutive for all patients. Objectives: To carry out a literature review on the action of bovine lactoferrin (bLf) on chronic hepatitis C to find evidence of its antiviral effect for a possible treatment associated with conventional therapy. Methodology: 49 articles were found according to the descriptors “lactoferrin” “immunotherapy” “chronic hepatitis C” in the pre-selected databases and seven were chosen according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria for writing the review in question. Results: The benefit of bLF use was related to the reduction of serum HCV RNA levels (1106 kIU/ml to 612 kIU/ml), plasma 8-isoprostane (8.6 ± 3.7 to 6.9 ± 2.1 pg/ml) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values (85 ± 80 to 63 ± 55 IU/l). Conclusion: The studies showed a possible antiviral effect of bovine lactoferrin that should be explored, through further studies, for adjuvant use in patients with chronic hepatitis C who do not show complete efficacy with the pre-established treatment for the disease.