Human trial of liposomal lactoferrin supplementation for periodontal disease.

New approaches to periodontal health have been in strong demand in addition to conventional local plaque control. In this study, liposomal bovine lactoferrin (L-bLF) was orally administered to subjects with periodontal disease to investigate whether it could be a useful treatment. L-bLF composed of soy phosphatidylcholine was given as a supplement for four weeks in tablet form (180 mg bLF/d) to twelve subjects with multiple sites of more than 3 mm probing depth (PD). PD, bleeding on probing (BOP), gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) volume and the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in GCF were evaluated for 51 sites with more than 4 mm PD in five subjects. Blood samples of all subjects were collected 0, 2 and 4 weeks after supplementation. Isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were incubated for 24h with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 ng/ml) from Porphyromonas gingivalis, and TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6 and MCP-1 in the culture media were measured. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 mRNA expressions of isolated PBMCs were also quantitatively analyzed using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The PD was significantly reduced by L-bLF supplementation, but the BOP and GCF volume were not significantly changed. The MCP-1 level in GCF was significantly reduced, while levels of other cytokines were not changed. Four-week L-bLF supplementation also showed significant decreases of LPS-induced cytokine production from PBMCs. Relative gene expressions of TLR2 and TLR4 did not change. These results suggest that L-bLF supplementation can be effective in the treatment of periodontal disease, although prospective controlled large-scale studies are required.