Nazar Hussain¹, Yutong Xia¹, Jianda Han¹, Muhammad Saeed^1,2, Muhammad Asif Arain³, Mohammad Farooque Hassan⁴ and Huayou Chen¹*

Agriculture sector plays an important role in addressing both economic and food security challenges worldwide. This sector has the potential to make a substantial contribution in meeting the growing demand of healthy and eco-friendly nutrients for humans and animals. Lactoferrin (LF) is a functional glycoprotein found in several biological secretions including saliva, milk, tears, mucus and pancreatic juice. Recently, wide array of research has been conducted on LF owing to its multifunctional properties and could be used as a potential substitute of antibiotics and as a therapeutic remedy to cure the infectious disorders. These characteristics are attributable to its renowned antibacterial, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antiviral, immunostimulatory and antioxidant properties via activating the immune system and triggering the production of chemokines, cytokines and immunoglobulins. Lactoferrin not only kills multidrug-resistant E. coli but also enhances feed intake, immune performance, pathogens resistance and growth rate in aquatic species. It also reduces the colonization of pathogens in fish and shrimp by improving gut health and reducing the incidence of diseases. The recommended dietary requirement of LF for aquatic animals varies from 200 to 800 mg/kg, however it is influenced by several factors such as age, species size, health status and source of LF used for supplementation. This review aimed to summarize the recent research evidence regarding the health beneficial applications of LF in aquatic animals. Additionally, this review encourages the commercial utilization of LF as a functional feed additive to replace antibiotics in aquaculture industry.