Lactoferrin plays a key role in the function of the innate immune system, which helps safeguard the body against bacterial, fungal, viral, and other pathogens. Lactoferrin also performs other functions in the body, and these include:

• Support for Iron Homeostasis: Helps regulate iron homeostasis, which ensures the body can maintain steady levels of iron.
• Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Tumor Activity: Helps inhibit inflammation and tumor growth.
• Analgesic Activity: Helps manage the performance of analgesics, drugs that are designed to help the central nervous system control pain.
• Regulation of Bone Metabolism: Helps control bone metabolism, a process that involves the removal of mature bone from the skeleton and formation of new bone tissue. 

Lactoferrin also provides antiviral activity that pharmaceutical drugs typically cannot match. It has been shown to help protect individuals against many viruses, including:

• Rotavirus
• Herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2
• Echovirus
• Enterovirus
• Human papilloma virus (HPV)
• Polio virus
• HIV and cytomegalovirus
• Hepatitis B and C viruses
• Adenovirus
• Hanta virus
• Flu virus
• Respiratory syncytial virus
• Sindbis and Semliki Forest viruses