Effects of theaflavins on the structure and function of bovine lactoferrin.

In this study, theaflavins were used to interact with bovine lactoferrin (bLF) to observe the effects of theaflavins on the structure and functionality of bLF. Spectral experiments verified that theaflavins were able to interact with bLF by a static quenching method. The circular dichroism experiment further showed that the combination of theaflavins would lead a certain change in the structure of bLF. By comparing the calculated data of the spectral experiment and the degree of structural change after bLF binding to theaflavins, the theaflavin-3, 3'-digallate (TFDG), which had the strongest effect on the structure of bLF, was selected to explore its influence on effects of bLF functionality. Conclusions were drawn from iron binding, enzyme-linked immunosorbent and in vitro simulated digestion experiments-the addition of TFDG had a certain effect on the functionality of bLF.