Abstract
It is well known that mental stress leads to various physiological disorders, which has also been a social problem in Japan. Lactoferrin, a milk protein that has various beneficial functions, has been reported to suppress the stress response in the mental stress model rats when administrated in an abdominal cavity. In the present study, we investigated the effect of anti-mental stress of iron-associated lactoferrin (FeLf) that makes 70 irons soluble with one molar lactoferrin and that has resistance to digestive enzymes.
This examination was designed as a cross over trial of a single oral intake of FeLf (833 mg) with 24 subjects who had shown stress reaction to the calculation work as a mental stressor. Stress reactions were evaluated using psychological investigation, brain wave, and stress markers in saliva. These analyses revealed that an oral administration of FeLf reduced the mental stress reaction in central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, and immunological response. Therefore, it is suggested that FeLf suppresses mental stress reaction.
