Oral bovine lactoferrin modulation on fecal microbiota of mice underwent immobilization stress

Lactoferrin, a diferric-binding glycoprotein drives the abundance of some gut microbiota members, but its role under stress conditions is unknown thus this aspect was the aim of this contribution. Female BALB/c mice (n = 4/group), treated orally with lactoferrin for 7 days were either stressed by board-immobilization from the 4th-to-7th day of treatment (LS) or unstressed (L). Two groups provided with water and stressed (S) or unstressed (C) were included. On day 7, feces were collected for the massive sequencing of V4-V5 region of the 16S rDNA gene. Regarding C-group, the only significant changes were found in the L-group that showed an increased abundance in most taxa of the genus Bacteroides (Phylum Bacteroidetes) and Parasuterella (Phylum Proteobacteria) or decreased of Clostridium_XIVb (Phylum Firmicutes), Lactoferrin-associated microbiota changes may result from stress independent modulatory pathways. Data may provide experimental foundations for using lactoferrin as a therapeutic co-adjuvant for diseases like obesity with microbiome alterations.