Stress is a condition that maintains the homeostasis of the organism through the activation of different neuroendocrine pathways and secretion of wide array of chemical mediators including, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), neurotransmitters and glucocorticoids hormones. These molecules fulfill important physiological functions but under stressful conditions, they can induce or aggravate a pathological state depending on type, severity and duration of stress. For this reason, the search of compounds that modulate the activity of the neuroendocrine pathways is crucial for the control of diseases associated with stressful situations. Bovine lactoferrin (bLf) is an iron-binding multifunctional glycoprotein that exhibits modulatory properties on neuroendocrine system. Bovine lactoferrin affects the production and secretion of neuroendocrine components of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Neuroendocrine mechanisms of bLf entails either the down- or up-modulation of adrenal corticosteroids via HPA pathway activation, nitric oxide (NO) generation and opioid nervous system pathway activation. This manuscript is focused to review the current contributions about of bLf modulatory actions on the response of hormones, neurotransmitters, involved in the stress and behavior. Sustained use of drugs for stress-associated dysfunctions lost efficacy and requires the dose increase by tolerance and drug dependence. Therefore, bLf may be included as therapeutic and/or adjunctive agent of drug-based therapies for the treatment with stress-associated emotional-disturbances.

No abstract

Lactoferrin is an 80 kDa monomeric glycoprotein that exhibits multitask activities. Lactoferrin properties are of interest in the pharmaceutical field for the design of products with therapeutic potential, including nanoparticles and liposomes, among many others. In antimicrobial preparations, lactoferrin has been included either as a main bioactive component or as an enhancer of the activity and potency of first-line antibiotics. In some proposals based on nanoparticles, lactoferrin has been included in delivery systems to transport and protect drugs from enzymatic degradation in the intestine, favoring the bioavailability for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer. Moreover, nanoparticles loaded with lactoferrin have been formulated as delivery systems to transport drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, which cannot cross the blood–brain barrier to enter the central nervous system. This manuscript is focused on pharmaceutical products either containing lactoferrin as the bioactive component or formulated with lactoferrin as the carrier considering its interaction with receptors expressed in tissues as targets of drugs delivered via parenteral or mucosal administration. We hope that this manuscript provides insights about the therapeutic possibilities of pharmaceutical Lf preparations with a sustainable approach that contributes to decreasing the resistance of antimicrobials and enhancing the bioavailability of first-line drugs for intestinal chronic inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases.