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Date: | Fri, 19 Jul 1996 12:00:01 +0100 |
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Hello everyone
Thought I'd write in response to the lactoferrin question.
There is still a lot not known about lactoferrin. It has been shown to
have a number of protective activities and also to bind to iron.
Lactoferrin is pretty resistant to proteolysis, so it is unlikely to be
broken down until it reaches the stomach. It may be at this point that
iron is released and reabsorbed or secreted by the baby - only guessing
though! What is known is that during pregnancy, most of the mothers
iron goes to the baby (so the mother should have enough iron for
herself and baby, otherwise she will become anaemic, although the baby
may be ok). Therefore, a baby, at birth, has a very high iron level.
This probably keeps the baby from becoming anaemic for a while so if the
iron in milk is not available, it will be a while before the baby
becomes iron deficient (iron stores last a long time). This may explain
why exclusively breast fed infants become aneamic after a certain time,
especially as the amount of lactoferrin and iron in breast milk also
decreases with time.
Hope that kind of answers the question
Daniel
Guys Hospital, London
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