Transferrins

Proteins that transport iron into cells — found in the plasma of vertebrates and used as indicators of iron status. Transferrins bind ferric iron tightly, delivering it to tissues while withholding it from invading bacteria — an innate-defence strategy called nutritional immunity. In foods, the milk transferrin lactoferrin is the celebrated example: it inhibits pathogens in the infant gut and is added to infant formula and functional foods for its antimicrobial and iron-modulating effects. Serum transferrin saturation and ferritin together diagnose iron deficiency — the world‘s most common nutritional disorder.