Antifungal and Hepatoprotective Effects of Lactoferrin Purified from Camel Milk Against Candida albicans: in vitro and in vivo studies

Abstract

Candida albicans is the most common human fungal pathogen that causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. This work aims to purify the lactoferrin (LF) from camel milk, then evaluating its antifungal and hepatoprotective effects of the lactoferrin (LF) against Candida albicans. LF was purified from camel milk by CM-Sephadex and Sephadex G-200, respectively. The purity of LF to homogeneity was examined using denatured polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with single band at molecular weight 78 kDa. In vitro study demonstrated notable growth inhibition of LF against a C. albicans isolate as indicated by measuring the mean diameter of the inhibition zone. In vivo study in Swiss mice received purified LF for 7 days before infection with C. albicans presented normal liver enzymes and returns liver function and histology to normal levels. Furthermore, pretreatment with LF significantly increased serum total antioxidant activity and decreased liver tissue malondialdehyde level as compared with the infected untreated group. In conclusion, LF pretreatment can alleviate oxidative stress and liver injury associated with Candida albicans infection in mice. Thus, the results suggest that LF is able to induce a protective immune response against Candida albicans infection.