Immune & Antimicrobial

Lactoferricin

Lactoferrin is the iron-hoarding protein in milk, tears and saliva, and cutting it apart releases something more aggressive than the parent: lactoferricin, which kills bacteria and Candida yeast outright. Against multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli isolates a 14-residue piece of it killed at 32 micromolar while destroying under 5% of red blood cells at four times that concentration, which is more than several peptides in this class can claim. One lactoferrin-derived peptide, hLF1-11, has reached people, in healthy volunteers and stem cell transplant recipients — but that trial was built to test safety and tolerance, and reversible liver enzyme rises were its main finding. It measured no infection outcome at all: not cure, not bacterial clearance, not survival.

Last updated 12 August 2026

Studied forAntibacterial research · Antifungal research · Immune modulation context

Evidence on file1 animal study · 2 citations not yet graded

Strongest sourceAntibacterial spectrum of lactoferricin B, a potent bactericidal peptide derived from the N-terminal region o… (animal study)

Mechanism

Its cationic charge binds anionic microbial surfaces, permeabilises membranes, then acts intracellularly; it also modulates monocyte differentiation.

Reported effects

What sources associate with this compound. Reported categories, not outcomes we have graded — each would need its own citation and rung.

Antibacterial research
Antifungal research
Immune modulation context

Dosing on file unverified

No established standard dose; hLF1-11 IV in trials

Carried from a source that labels it unverified, and reproduced with that label attached. A record of what is reported, not a recommendation. No citation on this page establishes it.

Literature on file 4

animal in vivo
Antibacterial spectrum of lactoferricin B, a potent bactericidal peptide derived from the N-terminal region of bovine lactoferrin (Journal of Applied Bacteriology 1992, cited 483x) graded on: an animal model — “bovine”
review or editorial
Lactoferricin (Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 2005, cited 450x) graded on: indexed as "Review" - secondary literature, not a study — “Review”

Not graded

2 citations whose study design could not be read from the title. Left ungraded rather than guessed at.

not graded
NCT00509834: A Phase-IIa, Double-blind, Randomized Study on the Tolerability and Early Efficacy of hLF1-11 in Hospitalized Patients With Proven Candidaemia graded on: NCT00509834 is withdrawn and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT00509834”
not graded
NCT00509847: A Phase-IIa, Double-blind, Randomized, Controlled Study on the Tolerability and Early Efficacy of hLF1-11 in Hospitalized Patients With Bacteremia Due to Staphylococcus Epidermidis graded on: NCT00509847 is withdrawn and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT00509847”

Identity

Space-filling 3D model of Lactoferricin, carbon grey, nitrogen blue, oxygen red — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

2D chemical structure of Lactoferricin — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

Molecular weight: 3123.8
Molecular formula: C141H224N46O29S3
CAS number: 146897-68-9
PubChem CID: 16130487
InChI key: PHEGMCHJJYMADA-IKGCZBKSSA-N
SMILES: CC[C@H](C)[C@H]1C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N[C@@H](CSSC[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)NCC(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N2CCC[C@H]2C(=O)N[C@H](C(=O)N1)CO)C)CC(C)C)CCCCN)CCCCN)CCSC)CCCNC(=N)N)CC3=CNC4=CC=CC=C43)CCC(=O)N)CC5=CNC6=CC=CC=C65)CCCNC(=N)N)CCCNC(=N)N)NC(=O)[C@H](CCCCN)NC(=O)[C@H](CC7=CC=CC=C7)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](C(C)C)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](C)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC8=CC=CC=C8)C(=O)O)[C@@H](C)O
InChI: InChI=1S/C141H224N46O29S3/c1-11-77(6)111-133(212)186-112(80(9)189)134(213)183-106(130(209)184-110(76(4)5)132(211)176-97(49-32-61-161-141(155)156)120(199)170-93(45-28-57-157-137(147)148)116(195)166-78(7)113(192)180-103(136(215)216)66-82-36-16-13-17-37-82)74-219-218-73-105(182-123(202)90(42-22-25-54-142)167-114(193)87(145)65-81-34-14-12-15-35-81)129(208)173-95(47-30-59-159-139(151)152)118(197)171-96(48-31-60-160-140(153)154)122(201)178-102(68-84-70-163-89-41-21-19-39-86(84)89)127(206)174-98(51-52-108(146)190)124(203)179-101(67-83-69-162-88-40-20-18-38-85(83)88)126(205)172-94(46-29-58-158-138(149)150)119(198)175-99(53-63-217-10)125(204)169-91(43-23-26-55-143)117(196)168-92(44-24-27-56-144)121(200)177-100(64-75(2)3)115(194)164-71-109(191)165-79(8)135(214)187-62-33-50-107(187)131(210)181-104(72-188)128(207)185-111/h12-21,34-41,69-70,75-80,87,90-107,110-112,162-163,188-189H,11,22-33,42-68,71-74,142-145H2,1-10H3,(H2,146,190)(H,164,194)(H,165,191)(H,166,195)(H,167,193)(H,168,196)(H,169,204)(H,170,199)(H,171,197)(H,172,205)(H,173,208)(H,174,206)(H,175,198)(H,176,211)(H,177,200)(H,178,201)(H,179,203)(H,180,192)(H,181,210)(H,182,202)(H,183,213)(H,184,209)(H,185,207)(H,186,212)(H,215,216)(H4,147,148,157)(H4,149,150,158)(H4,151,152,159)(H4,153,154,160)(H4,155,156,161)/t77-,78-,79-,80+,87-,90-,91-,92-,93-,94-,95-,96-,97-,98-,99-,100-,101-,102-,103-,104-,105-,106-,107-,110-,111-,112-/m0/s1

Notes unverified prose

hLF1-11 (human lactoferrin peptide) Phase I (NCT00509834, NCT00509847); 2 human studies; 93% preclinical; no approved product; hLF1-11 Phase I (NCT00509834, NCT00509847)

Not on file 2

1 of the 8 fields we track hold nothing on this record, and each says why. 1 further absence is named below. A blank field is a bug; a named absence is a finding.

amino-acid sequencenothing we hold supplies it
half-lifenothing we hold supplies it

Each field links to every other record missing the same thing. The full ledger holds 765 gaps across 163 records.