Lactoferrin for Immune Function
Lactoferrin shows a modest signal for fewer respiratory infections in infants and children, but it does not work for adult immunity and failed to prevent infection in the largest, best-designed neonatal trial. No health authority endorses it for immune function, so any "boosts immunity" claim is overstated.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
The grade lands at Weak because the evidence is split by age and contradicts itself at the highest level of rigor. Pooled meta-analyses suggest fewer respiratory tract infections in children (2021 meta-analysis OR 0.57, PMID 34620326; 2022 review OR 0.78 in infants/children, PMID 35481594), and a small preschool RCT reported roughly half as many episodes (PMID 38397361, n=50). But that trial is tiny and single-center, and the same 2022 review found no effect in adults (OR 1.00).
Most importantly, the largest and best-powered trial is null. ELFIN (PMID 30635141, n=2203, UK NIHR-funded) found no reduction in late-onset sepsis in very preterm infants (adjusted RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.86-1.04, p=0.233), directly overturning the earlier, smaller, industry-supported Manzoni/LISA trial that had reported a large benefit (PMID 40507041, n=472, RR 0.34). A positive small-trial signal that vanishes at scale is a classic small-study effect.
No major authority backs lactoferrin for immunity. FDA and EFSA accept it only as a safe food ingredient (GRAS and novel food), not as an immune therapy with an approved health claim, and the WHO, NHS, NIH ODS, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Harvard Health offer no endorsement. That institutional silence, the null adult and hard-endpoint data, and heterogeneous doses justify a cautious Weak verdict rather than a stronger one.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.472
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 高品質 SR/MA 顯示 positive (2 篇 > 0 negative)
- tier_strict_requirement_check — Tier 條件達標，未降階
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 0 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status