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    Home > Food News > Nutrition News > What is lactoferrin added in milk powder?

    What is lactoferrin added in milk powder?

    • Last Update: 2021-06-29
    • Source: Internet
    • Author: User
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    Recently, some milk powders have appeared on the market, claiming to add [lactoferrin], and claiming to improve anemia, enhance immunity, etc.
    , and the price is much more expensive than ordinary milk powder
    .
    What exactly is lactoferrin added in milk powder? Does it really have such an effect? Do you want to buy it?
     
    1.
    What is lactoferrin?
     
    Lactoferrin (LF) was first discovered by Sorensen et al.
    in 1939 as a red component in cow's milk.
    Because of its red crystals, it is also called "globin", because all of it was first isolated from milk.
    Also called lactoferrin
    .
    It is a globular protein formed by the combination of iron and glycoprotein.
    Later, it was discovered that the redness of its color was due to the iron element
    .

     
    Although its name is lactoferrin, it is not only found in breast milk
    .
    In fact, lactoferrin can be secreted by [animal glands], in addition to milk and human milk, other secretions of our body also contain it, such as [snot], [tears].
    .
    .
    However, this substance is usually contained in milk It is relatively high.
    For example, its content in milk is about 0.
    15 g/L, while the content in human milk is much higher.
    For example, colostrum can be as high as 7 g/L, and ordinary breast milk has 1 g/L
    .

     
    2.
    Can lactoferrin supplement iron?
     
    Regardless of the iron in its name, it is not used for iron supplementation.
    Iron supplementation generally uses various iron salts, such as iron sodium EDTA and ferrous lactate
    .
     
    The true identity of lactoferrin is "[Iron transporter]", which is equivalent to the [porter] that transports iron and is part of our body's immune force
    .
    Therefore, whether iron can be supplemented, it must first have sufficient iron, just like there is not enough cargo, no matter how many transport vehicles there are, they can only run empty
    .

     
    In addition to transporting iron, scientists have found that it has antibacterial, antiviral, and antiparasitic effects.
    Some scientists also believe that it can also resist allergies and radiation protection, and may even have anti-cancer effects
    .
    3.
    Is there a food source to replace lactoferrin?
     
    Lactoferrin is a protein found in the glands of many animals
    .
    However, it is not very effective to supplement with food
    .
    Basically, human and animal milk is the most abundant, and other foods are difficult to supplement
    .
     
    4.
    How about the application of lactoferrin?
     
    Lactoferrin is still widely used in the food industry
    .
     
    For example, the United States allows lactoferrin as a food additive to be used in sports and functional foods
    .
    In Japan and South Korea, lactoferrin is also allowed to be used as a food additive in food
    .
    At present, foreign countries have allowed it to be used in dairy products, such as yogurt, infant formula milk powder, especially infant formula milk powder
    .
    Because it is a good nutritional fortification option for infants and young children whose immune system is not yet fully developed and cannot eat breast milk for various reasons
    .
     
    The Chinese standard "National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Nutrition Enhancers" (GB14880-2012) allows lactoferrin to be used as a food nutrition fortifier
    .
    5.
    What do you think of the lactoferrin milk powder on the market? Is it really useful or a gimmick?
     
    First of all, it needs to be clear that for infants and young children, [breast milk is still the first choice]
    .
    Health agencies in various countries, including the World Health Organization, recommend that you should insist on exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months
    .
    So, if you can, you should give your baby breast milk first
    .
     
    You should know that the Chinese standard stipulates that the maximum amount of lactoferrin added to infant formula powder is 1 g/kg
    .
    When converted to milk, it is actually only 0.
    13 g/L, which is far worse than the lactoferrin content in breast milk
    .
    Therefore, in general, milk powder that promotes lactoferrin is still inferior to breast milk! Even if you want to supplement your baby with lactoferrin, breast milk is the best choice
    .
     
    Secondly, the efficacy of lactoferrin may not be as good as advertised, at least there is still insufficient human evidence
    .
     
    A lot of publicity claims that lactoferrin can promote iron absorption and improve the baby's immunity
    .
    For iron supplementation, if there is a problem with absorption, there may be a certain improvement effect, but if it is really iron deficiency, only supplementing lactoferrin will not work
    .
    For example, there are only trucks, no goods, no matter how many trucks they can only run empty
    .
     
    Current research has also found that it has certain anti-infective and antibacterial activities, but the current research is mainly animal experiments and cell experiments, human clinical experiments are still very few, and the effective effects obtained are also very limited
    .
    Therefore, it is difficult to say whether it is necessarily effective for infants and young children
    .

     
    As for other functions, for example, a company in the European Union once submitted a function claiming to reduce sore throat caused by colds to the European Food Safety Agency.
    After the European Food Safety Agency assessed that there was insufficient evidence, it rejected it
    .
    Therefore, whether lactoferrin is added to milk powder really has a good effect, there is still insufficient evidence at present
    .

     
    Since it is not sure that it is effective, why do businesses add milk powder to it? In fact, it is to imitate breast milk
    .
    Current studies have found that lactoferrin has the highest content in breast milk, especially colostrum
    .
    The essence of formula milk powder is to imitate the composition of breast milk, for those children who cannot eat breast milk
    .
    The content of lactoferrin in milk is low.
    In order to imitate breast milk as much as possible, it is reasonable to add some lactoferrin
    .
    Moreover, judging from the current dosage, it is also safe
    .
     
    6.
    Do you want to buy this kind of milk powder?
     
    Judging from the current market response, milk powder with lactoferrin is still relatively expensive
    .
    From the perspective of imitating breast milk, adding lactoferrin is indeed closer to breast milk.
    If conditions permit (with money), you can still buy this kind of milk powder
    .

     
    However, if conditions do not allow it, there is no need to be too entangled
    .
    After all, at present, whether lactoferrin has the effects of enhancing immunity and anti-virus for infants and young children, there is no very favorable human test evidence
    .
    As for the improvement of anemia caused by iron deficiency, the current formula milk powder standard stipulates the amount of iron added.
    It can be considered that as long as the regular formula milk powder is eaten, the baby's health needs can also be met
    .
     
    Author: Ruan Guangfeng, Director of the Business Department of Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, WeChat Weibo@(ruanguangfeng), sharing reliable nutrition and food safety knowledge
    .
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