Antihypertensive and renal protective effect of bovine lactoferrin in dexamethasone-induced hypertension rats

Current antihypertensive drugs are still limited to be used as a monotherapy and their effectiveness in preventing end-organ damage is insufficient, therefore complementary therapy is needed to reduce end-organ damage and make hypertension treatment more effective. In this study, we are investigating the potential of bovine lactoferrin (BLf) as an antihypertensive and renal protective agent. 30 rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: BLf 100mg/kg, BLf 300 mg/kg, BLf 500 mg/kg, Dexamethasone, Amlodipine 1 mg/kg, and Control. Dexamethasone, Amlodipine 1mg/kg, and all BLf groups were given subcutaneous dexamethasone injections from day 1 to 14. Starting from day 8 to 14 Amlodipine 1 mg/kg and BLf groups received oral BLf or amlodipine according to mentioned doses. The results of this study demonstrated that BLf at all doses was effective in lowering systolic blood pressure, increasing serum nitric oxide (NO) level, and improving kidney function but ineffective in lowering diastolic blood pressure. BLf has the potential to be utilized as a complementary antihypertensive therapy and renal protective agent in hypertension.