Studying the effects of lactoferrin in rats fed high fat diet and formed full- thickness skin defect type

Lactoferrin is a member of the family of milk proteins and possesses a vast array of bioactivities. This study investigated the effect of lactoferrin on wound healing. 48 male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats weighing 250-300 grams were utilized: Control (C) (n =8), Full-thickness skin defect model (FTSD) (n =8), bovine lactoferrin (bLf) (n= 8) and High Fat Diet (HFD) + bovine lactoferrin (bLf) (n = 8), High-fat diet (HFD)+Full-thickness skin defect model Rats in the control group were fed regular pellet food ad libitum. Rats in the HFD + bLf and HFD+FTSD + bLf groups were administered high-fat diet and bovine lactoferrin orally. In the experimental investigation, all groups' body weight gains were measured on the first, fourth, seventh, tenth, fourteenth, seventeenth, and twenty-first days. For the FTSD, HFD+ FTSD, and HFD+ FTSD+ bLf groups, a full-thickness skin defect model was developed. The wound surface areas of experimental animals with full-thickness skin defects were compared on the first and twenty-first days using macroscopy and surface area measurements. On the first day, there was no significant difference between the groups, but by the 21st day, the HFD+ FTSD+bLf group had a smaller wound surface area than the FTSD and HFD+ FTSD groups (p<0.05). The wounds of the group administered lactoferrin healed more quickly than those of the other groups. On the twenty-first postoperative day, all rats were sacrificed. Serum samples were examined biochemically. On the 21st day, the blood IL-6 protein levels are highest in the HFD+FTSD+bLf group and lowest in the FTSD group, when the serum VEGF protein levels, which are our other biochemical criteria, are highest in the HFD+FTSD+bLf group and lowest in the FTSD group (p<0.05). In conclusion, the experimental study's findings indicate that lactoferrin improves the wound healing process in rats with full-thickness skin abnormalities.