Comparison of Lactoferrin vs Traditional Iron Therapy for Treatment of Iron Deficiency Anemia in School-age Children.

Anemia is a great public health problem affecting both developing and developed countries. It is considered the most prevalent form of malnutrition in children and adolescents.

Supplementation with standard iron therapy is the main treatment of iron deficiency anemia.

There are two types of iron that are available: ferric and ferrous iron but ferrous iron better in absorption so it is more common in use.

Three types of ferrous iron are present: ferrous sulfate, ferrous fumarate, and ferrous gluconate but all forms have annoying gastrointestinal side effects including diarrhea, anorexia, heartburn, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps, upset stomach, and constipation making continuation on it for many weeks unpleasant for all even adults.

Studies have been performed to explore the effect of oral bovine lactoferrin on iron absorption on pregnant women. Many studies showed that oral bovine lactoferrin for pregnant women increased levels of hemoglobin, total serum iron, and ferritin and decreased the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia. although ferrous sulfate and lactoferrin both of them significantly improve the body's iron stores to the same extent, gastrointestinal side effects of lactoferrin were extremely lower than that of ferrous sulfate so oral bovine lactoferrin can replace iron forms in the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy.