Anti-inflammatory factor, method of isolation, and use

A composition comprising an anti-inflammatory factor, in purified form, wherein:

• a) said factor is present in the whey of pasteurized skimmed milk;
• b) said factor occurs in both aggregated and non-aggregated form;
• c) the percentage of said factor present in aggregated form increases as the salt concentration of said composition decreases;
• d) both the aggregated and non-aggregated forms of said factor have anti-inflammatory activity;
• e) the molecular weight of said factor in non-aggregated form is less than about 10,000 daltons as determined by ultrafiltration;
• f) said factor carries a negative charge at pH 7.0 as determined by its binding characteristics to ion exchange columns;
• g) said factor is not a peptide or protein;
• h) said factor is not inactivated when boiled for 30 minutes;
• and
• i) said factor binds to a chromatography medium having an affinity for cis hydroxyl groups when such binding takes place in 0.25M ammonium acetate at pH 7.0 and detaches from said medium in 0.1M formic acid at pH 2.8.