Potent anti-obesity effect of enteric-coated lactoferrin: decrease in visceral fat accumulation in Japanese men and women with abdominal obesity after 8-week administration of enteric-coated lactoferrin tablets

Lactoferrin (LF), a multifunctional glycoprotein in mammalian milk, is reported to exert a modulatory effect on lipid metabolism. The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether enteric-coated LF (eLF) might improve visceral fat-type obesity, an underlying cause of the metabolic syndrome. Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, Japanese men and women (n 26; aged 22-60 years) with abdominal obesity (BMI > 25 kg/m(2), and visceral fat area (VFA) > 100 cm(2)) consumed eLF (300 mg/d as bovine LF) or placebo tablets for 8 weeks. Measurement of the total fat area, VFA and subcutaneous fat area from computed tomography images revealed a significant reduction in VFA (-14.6 cm(2)) in the eLF group, as compared with the placebo controls (-1.8 cm(2); P=0.009 by ANCOVA). Decreases in body weight, BMI and hip circumference in the eLF group (-1.5 kg, -0.6 kg/m(2), -2.6 cm) were also found to be significantly greater than with the placebo (+1.0 kg, +0.3 kg/m(2), -0.2 cm; P=0.032, 0.013, 0.041, respectively). There was also a tendency for a reduction in waist circumference in the eLF group (-4.4 cm) as compared with the placebo group (-0.9 cm; P=0.073). No adverse effects of the eLF treatment were found with regard to blood lipid or biochemical parameters. From these results, eLF appears to be a promising agent for the control of visceral fat accumulation.