Treatment of enterogenic endotoxinemia with lactoferrin in rats.

Enterogenic endotoxinemia was induced in 28 Wistar rats by means of intraperitoneal injection of 80 mg/kg carrageenan and intraduodenal administration of 5 x 10(10)/kg Escherichia coli bacteria and 10 mg/kg nebacetin. The control group A received 600 mg/kg albumin in addition via the duodenal probe, and the groups B, C and D received 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg lactoferrin, respectively. The therapeutic effect was investigated by determining the endotoxin activity in the plasma every hour. In addition, the bacterial contamination of peritoneal lavages and mesenteric lymph nodes was checked by incubation for 48 h at 37 degrees C. The period of observation was 5 h. There was a dose-dependent improvement of the endotoxin activity in plasma and the bacterial contamination of the peritoneum cavity and mesenteric lymph nodes after lactoferrin administration. The maximum plasma endotoxin activity could be reduced by 89% with 80 mg/kg lactoferrin.