Effect of supplementation of vitamin E, selenium and their different combinations on the performance and immune response of broilers

1. The effect of dietary vitamin E, selenium (Se) and their different combinations on body weight gain, food consumption, food conversion efficiency, leukocyte migration inhibition and antibody production was determined in broilers. 2. Chicks were fed on maize-soya bean based diets with concentrations of supplemental vitamin E varying from 0 to 300 IU/kg and selenium concentrations varying from 0 to 1 mg/kg either alone or in combination from 1 to 42 d of age. 3. The chicks were immunised for Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) vaccine at 21 d. Per cent leukocyte migration inhibition (LMI) was studied on 42 d. Antibodies to NDV in serum were determined at 10 and 21 d post immunisation (PI). 4. Chicks receiving Se, 1 mg/kg and vitamin E 300 IU/kg had significantly higher cellular immune responses in terms of per cent LMI. 5. Maximum body weight gain and best efficiency of food utilisation were obtained in chicks fed diets containing 0.50 mg/kg Se and 300 IU/kg vitamin E. 6. Significantly higher antibody titres (HI and ELISA) at 10 d PI were attributed to 0.06 mg/kg and 150 IU/kg Se and vitamin E, respectively. 7. These data suggest that optimum growth and immune response may be achieved at supplemental level of Se of 0.06 mg/kg and vitamin E at 150 IU/kg. The vitamin E level is higher than that recommended by NRC (1984, 1994).     

Physiological stress responses in broilers as affected by drinking water supplements or dietary corn particle size

The detrimental effects of physiological stress on broilers are well documented. However, little research exists to delineate the effects of different nutritional regimens on the stress response in broilers. Hence, an experiment was conducted to examine the effects of sucrose and supplemental water electrolytes on Ross 308 male broilers during corticosterone-induced stress, as well as the particle grind size during poststress recovery. Feeding broilers supplemental water electrolytes during corticosterone-induced stress resulted in improved live performance. Feeding water sucrose to stressed broilers did not result in live performance improvements during the stress period. However, broilers fed water-sucrose or water-electrolyte treatments during the stress period had improved feed conversion during stress recovery. Feeding broilers a diet with increased particle size during stress recovery had no effect on live performance. Carcass measurements were not affected by any treatment. Water-electrolyte or water-sucrose supplements appear to have some potential as stress amelioration agents and thus should be researched more thoroughly.     

Effects of dietary supplementation with vitamin C or vitamin E on cardiac lipid peroxidation and growth performance in broilers at risk of developing ascites syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To assess effects of high dietary amounts of vitamin C or vitamin E and oxidative stress on the heart and growth performance of broilers maintained at an altitude of 2,200 m above sea level. ANIMALS: 360 chicks (1-day-old broilers). PROCEDURE: Birds were randomly assigned to 3 groups (120 chicks/group). Each group of birds was fed a specific diet (control group, basal diet containing 12 mg of vitamin E (DL-alpha-tocopherol acetate)/kg of feed without additional ascorbic acid; vitamin E group, basal diet supplemented with 75 mg of vitamin E/kg of feed; and vitamin C group, basal diet supplemented with 400 mg of ascorbic acid/kg of feed) throughout the entire 7 weeks of the study. Feed consumption and body weight of chicks were recorded on a weekly basis. Nine randomly selected birds from each group were euthanatized each week. Remaining birds were euthanatized at the end of the study. Samples of cardiac tissues were obtained to measure thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), an indicator of oxidative stress. RESULTS: Vitamin E-supplemented diets resulted in better growth performance, lower rates of feed conversion, and lower TBARS content. Vitamin C-supplemented diets resulted in lower feed consumption and lower rates of feed conversion. When used separately, neither of the vitamins had any effect on mortality attributable to ascites syndrome. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: It is recommended that diets supplemented with vitamin C, vitamin E, or both be fed to broilers maintained at an altitude of 2,200 m above sea level to improve growth performance.     

Effects of dietary supplementation with vitamin E and organic selenium on the oxidative stability of beef.

The effects of supplementation of beef cattle diets with organic Se (0.3 mg/kg) and vitamin E (300 I.U. alpha-tocopheryl acetate/kg feed), for 55 d preceding slaughter, on the antioxidant status and oxidative stability of muscle was examined. Dietary vitamin E supplementation led to an increase (P < 0.05) in plasma, and longissimus muscle alpha-tocopherol levels. In minced longissimus muscle stored in 80% 02:20% CO2, lipid and oxymyoglobin oxidation were lower (P < 0.05) in muscle from vitamin E-supplemented animals compared with unsupplemented animals. Dietary Se supplementation did not significantly affect muscle Se levels, glutathione peroxidase activity, or susceptibility to lipid and oxymyoglobin oxidation in the presence or absence of vitamin E. Covariance analysis indicated that, in addition to muscle alpha-tocopherol, differences in muscle glutathione peroxidase activity, and pH could account for variation in the susceptibility of muscle to lipid and oxymyoglobin oxidation.     

硒和维生素E协同添加对肉鸡肉品质量的影响

近年来，随着人们生活水平的提高，对肉品的品质也要求越来越高。肉品质量主要由肉品的理化性质决定，肉品的化学成分与其营养价值关系密切；肉品的物理指标如颜色、持水性、嫩度和多汁性等直接影响消费者对肉品的接受程度。     

Stability of abdominal fat and meat of broilers: The interrelationship between the effects of dietary fat and vitamin E supplements 1

1. The effect of graded increments of α‐tocopheryl acetate (ATA), in diets containing various fat supplements at different concentrations, on tissue a‐tocopherol (TOC) content and on the stability of abdominal fat and meat of broilers was determined.

2. Plasma, liver and adipose tissue TOC content increased markedly as dietary ATA concentrations rose. The type or amount of fat supplementation had no consistent effect on tissue TOC content; however, these factors affected the degree of saturation of carcass fat.

3. Stability of abdominal fat and meat was little affected by the degree of saturation of carcass fat in the absence of dietary ATA. The latter significantly improved stability of these tissues in broilers having relatively saturated carcass fat, whereas its beneficial effect was rather limited as the degree of unsaturation of carcass fat increased.     

The effect of dietary vitamin E level on selenium status in rats

The effect of varying levels of dietary vitamin E on selenium status was determined using 40 Wistar rats with similar initial body weight. The rats were equally divided into four groups and fed the following dietary treatments (mg vitamin E/kg DM): 18 (control; C‐diet), 0 (0E‐diet), 9 (0.5E‐diet) and 36 (2E‐diet) for either 4‐week (Phase 1) or 8‐week (Phase 2) period. At the end of experiment, animals were slaughtered to measure vitamin E and selenium levels in the brain, liver, spleen, kidney, muscles and blood tissues. Dietary vitamin E levels did not affect feed and water intake and body weight. But whole‐blood selenium concentration in rats fed 0E‐diet was higher than in rats fed 2E‐diet after 4 weeks. Selenium level in muscle, spleen and brain was also higher (p < 0.05) in rats fed the 0E‐diet than in rats fed C‐diet after 4 weeks of feeding. On the other hand, selenium level in the muscle was lower (p < 0.05) in rats fed 0.5E‐diet than in those fed 0E‐diet after 4 weeks of feeding, but not after 8 weeks of feeding. Increasing dietary vitamin E level directly influenced selenium content of the spleen and brain after 8 weeks of feeding 2E‐diet. Moreover, the twofold increase in vitamin E intake resulted in a tendency to reduce whole‐blood selenium level and total selenium in the liver and kidney after 4 and 8 weeks. The results showed that the increasing dietary vitamin E level resulted in a tendency to reduce Se contents in some vital organs of the body such as the liver and kidney, suggesting their close compensatory interrelationship. Therefore, dietary vitamin E level directly influenced selenium metabolism in the animal body.     

Effect of dietary selenium and vitamin E on spermatogenic development in boars

An experiment involving a total of 61 crossbred boars evaluated the effects of dietary Se and vitamin E on spermatogenic development at various stages of sexual development and the prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) content in the seminal vesicle and prostate glands at 18 mo of age. The experiment from 5.4 to 9 mo of age was conducted as a 2 x 2 factorial in a randomized complete block design. Dietary Se at 0 or .5 ppm was the first factor and vitamin E at 0 or 220 IU/kg diet was the second. From 9 to 18 mo of age, a group of sexually active and inactive boars was a third factor. Treatment diets were fed from weaning (28 d of age) to the end of the experiment. Three boars per treatment group at 5.4 (105 kg BW), 6.2 (130 kg BW), and 9.0 (150 kg BW) mo of age were killed and the testes collected. From 9 to 18 mo of age, three boars from each dietary treatment group were used for semen collection, and another set of three to four boars from each treatment group remained sexually inactive. At 18 mo, both sets of boars were killed and their testes, prostates, and seminal vesicles were collected. The testis at each age was evaluated for sperm reserve numbers and germ and Sertoli cell populations. At 5.4 or 6.2 mo of age, testicular sperm reserves were not affected by dietary Se (P > .15), at 9.0 mo of age there was a trend for a higher (P < .10) number of sperm reserves, and by 18 mo of age the Se-fed boars had higher (P < .01) numbers of sperm reserves. Vitamin E had no effect (P > .15) on testicular sperm reserves at any age period. Boars fed dietary Se had a greater number of Sertoli cells (P < .01) and round spermatids (P < .01) at 6.2 mo of age, but by 18 mo of age the boars fed Se had more Sertoli cells (P < .05), more secondary spermatocytes (P < .01), and more round spermatids (P < .05). Vitamin E did not affect Sertoli or germ cell populations at the various ages. Boars at 18 mo of age had lower PGF2alpha concentrations in the prostate (P < .05) and seminal vesicles (P < .01) when vitamin E was fed, whereas Se had no effect. Sexually active boars had lower PGF2alpha concentrations in the seminal vesicles (P < .01) than sexually inactive boars, but there was no effect (P > .15) of sexual activity on the number of Sertoli cells, primary or secondary spermatocytes, or round spermatids. Our results indicate that Se has a role in establishing the number of boar spermatozoal reserves and Sertoli cells, whereas supplemental vitamin E did not affect these criteria.     

Influence of vitamin E and selenium supplement on antibody production in horses

Fifteen horses used for serum production were maintained on low vitamin E and selenium diets. They were divided into four groups receiving: Group 1 no supplements, Group 2 vitamin E, Group 3 selenium and Group 4 both vitamin E and selenium. The humoral immune response to novel antigens, such as tetanus toxoid and equine influenza virus, was increased in groups receiving either vitamin E or selenium/vitamin E. No effects were recorded on the titres against Escherichia coli or the levels of immunoglobulin G.     

Effects of dietary vitamin K levels on bone quality in broilers.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary vitamin K (menadione) on bone quality in cage-raised broilers. Three hundred and sixty male broilers were randomly allotted to one of six treatments, with six replicate pens per treatment and 10 chicks per pen. Broilers were fed one of six diets including a control diet or the control diet plus graded levels of vitamin K (0.5 mg/kg, 2 mg/kg, 8 mg/kg, 32 mg/kg and 128 mg/kg). Water and feed were provided ad libitum during the 7-week experimental period. Results indicated that vitamin K supplementation of broilers diets significantly effected bone quality and feed efficiency. The treatment containing vitamin K at 8 mg/kg improved growth performance (during weeks 6-7) and bone quality (during weeks 0-3). In our study, hydroxyapatite binding capacity of serum osteocalcin (during weeks 0-3), bone breaking strength, bone flexibility, bone ash weight increased linearly (P < 0.05) and bone mineral density, bone mineral content increased quadratically (P < 0.05) with increasing supplementation of vitamin K. In conclusion, to gain optimum bone quality and broiler performance, our studies suggest that the concentration of vitamin K in broilers diets should be 8 mg/kg, 2 mg/kg, and 2 mg/kg, for the starter, grower and finisher phases, respectively. Furthermore, it was shown that the starter period is an important phase for improving bone quality. In addition, this study validated the mechanism of vitamin K effects on bone quality. Vitamin K boosts the carboxylation of osteocalcin and decreases the concentration of serum under-carboxylated osteocalcin enhancing hydroxyapatite binding capacity of serum osteocalcin and improving bone quality.     

天然维生素E对肉仔鸡生产性能、肉品质和抗氧化性能的影响

本试验研究天然维生素E对肉仔鸡生产性能、肉品质和抗氧化性能的影响,并时其与化学合成维生素E的效果进行比较.选择480只1日龄健康罗斯308肉仔鸡,随机分为4个处理,每个处理8个重复,每个重复15只鸡,分别饲喂基础日粮(未添加维生素E)中添加天然维生素E 60、120 mg/kg和180 mg/kg以及添加化工合成维生素E 60 mg/kg的试验日粮,试验期42 d.结果表明,添加天然维生素E的各试验组与化工合成维生素E组相比,肉仔鸡全期的平均日增重、平均日采食量和饲料转化率均无显著差异(P>0.05);对肉品质的测定结果中,肌肉pH值、肉色、嫩度以及保水性也无显著影响(P>O.05);对血清谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-Px)的影响无显著差异(P>O.05).化工合成维生素E组的丙二醛(MDA)含量极显著高于各天然维生素E组(P0.05),表明天然维生素E组提高了机体的抗氧化能力.     

Effects of selenium and vitamin E supplementation on selenium distribution and meat quality of pigs

Abstract

The study was conducted on 60 pigs kept in individual pens. The animals were allocated to four groups. The growing-finishing pigs from the control group were fed with basic feed containing 0.3 mg selenium (Se) derived from Na₂SeO₃ kg^?1 and 60 mg of dl-α-tocopheryl acetate kg^?1. The remaining three groups were differentiated by adding 0.2 mg kg^?1 Se-enriched yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and/or 60 mg vitamin E to feed (grower and finisher). Our results show that the addition of organic Se to inorganic Se commonly used in pig feed caused a significant increase in hepatic Se and muscle. This indicates the possibility of using these products as functional foods to improve Se status in humans residing within regions which are deficient in this trace element. We found no beneficial effect of supplementation with vitamin E and Se on the quality of the meat.     

Functional microRNA screening for dietary vitamin E regulation of abdominal fat deposition in broilers

ABSTRACT

1. Functional microRNA (miRNA) screening for abdominal fat tissue with different dietary vitamin E (VE) levels was performed to reveal miRNAs, genes and metabolic pathways involved in abdominal fat deposition in broilers.

2. A total of 240, one-day-old healthy female chicks were randomly allocated into five dietary treatments containing either 0, 20, 50, 75 or 100 IU DL-α-tocopherol acetate. The sequencing of miRNAs from abdominal fat tissues was performed. The target genes of miRNAs were predicted and enrichment analysis for these genes was performed. Diets supplemented with 50 IU VE significantly diminished abdominal fat deposition in broilers at day 35 of age.

3. A total of 29 miRNAs were differentially expressed between control and 50 IU VE treatment. Ten of the 23 target genes were enriched in four signalling pathways: tight junction, SNARE interactions in vesicular transport, regulation of autophagy and proteasome.

4. This study identified miRNA, target genes and pathways in dietary VE treatment for broilers, providing new insights into the miRNA regulation of abdominal fat deposition in broilers.     

Blood and milk status of vitamin E,vitamin A,and selenium in nursing Awassi ewes injected with vitamin E and selenium

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of vitamin E and selenium (Se) injections on concentrations of vitamin E, vitamin A, and Se in blood and milk to predict when injections may improve ewes’ performance. Awassi ewes received 0 (control, 13 ewes) or 15 plus 0.05?mg/kg BW of vitamin E and Se (injected, 15 ewes) at 1 and 4 weeks postpartum. Blood and milk samples were collected weekly for 6 weeks. Injections increased vitamin E, decreased Se, and had no effects on vitamin A levels in blood. Blood vitamin E was correlated positively with vitamin A. Injections increased vitamin E, but had no effects on vitamin A or Se levels in milk. Milk vitamin A was positively correlated with vitamin E and Se levels in the control group. Milk vitamins E and A were positively correlated with their corresponding levels in blood. Milk somatic cell count was negatively correlated with blood vitamin A levels.     

硒、维生素B_2复合对不同日龄蛋鸡产蛋性能及鸡蛋中硒、维生素B_2含量影响

试验在饲料中复合添加硒、维生素B2,以144、470、640日龄的产蛋鸡为试验动物,研究日粮中添加14.4 mg/kgVB2(80%)、0.4 mg/kg的亚硒酸钠对不同日龄蛋鸡的产蛋性能及鸡蛋中硒、维生素B2含量的影响。试验选取144、470、640三种日龄的海蓝灰蛋鸡各32只,设对照组、试验组两个处理;每个处理各4个重复,每个重复4只鸡。试验结果表明:①各日龄的蛋鸡试验组与对照组相比在各种生产性能,蛋重、产蛋率、日采食量等有增加趋势,但差异不显著(P>0.05);②同一日龄的蛋鸡试验组鸡蛋中硒、维生素B2含量高于对照组鸡蛋中硒、维生素B2含量,差异显著(P<0.05);③日粮中复合添加硒、维生素B2对不同日龄的蛋鸡鸡蛋中硒、维生素B2增加量无显著性差异,未见规律性变化。     

啤酒废酵母硒对肉鸡组织硒含量的影响

本试验旨在研究啤酒废酵母硒对肉鸡组织硒含量的影响。选用225羽1日龄平均体重为(42.78±1.08)g的AA商品代肉鸡(公母混合),随机分成5组,每组3个重复,每个重复15羽,对照组日粮为以Na2SeO3形式在基础日粮中补充硒0.1mg/kg,试验Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ组日粮为以酵母硒形式在基础日粮中补充硒0、0.1、0.2、0.3mg/kg,饲养期42d。结果表明:(1)肉鸡羽毛、肌肉和肝脏中硒的含量随着酵母硒添加量的增加和时间的延长显著提高,并表现出较强的线性关系;(2)与基础日粮组相比,酵母硒组肉鸡组织硒含量极显著增加(P0.05),以0.3mg/kg的添加量最好;硒的沉积顺序为肝脏羽毛肌肉。本试验结果提示,由啤酒废酵母制备的酵母硒可以提高肉鸡组织硒含量。     

Porcine immunoglobulin transfer after prepartum treatment with selenium or vitamin E

Responses to prepartum injection of sows with Se and vitamin E (E) were evaluated by determining immunoglobulin (IgA, IgM, IgG) levels in the colostrum and serum of the sows and the serum of their offspring. Fifty-four sows (40 multiparous, 14 primiparous) receiving diets adequate in E and Se according to current NRC (1988) standards were randomly allotted to four treatment groups in which a single i.m. injection of saline (controls), 5 mg of Se, 1,000 IU of E, or both Se and E were given on d 100 of gestation. Sows were bled prior to and 7 d after injection, at farrowing and on d 14 and 28 of lactation. Colostral samples were collected at the initiation of farrowing. Pigs were bled 20 h postpartum and at 14 and 28 d of age. Major immunoglobulin changes in the serum of the sows due to treatment were not seen prior to parturition. Injections of Se and(or) E resulted in higher colostral IgM levels (8.4, 10.7, 9.8 and 9.6 mg/ml, respectively), but only the response from Se was significant (P less than .05). Concentrations of colostral IgA or IgG were not affected by treatment (P greater than .30). Compared with controls, all three treatments increased (P less than .10) IgM concentrations in serum from pigs at birth (28.3, 33.3, 36.0 and 33.5 mg/ml, respectively), whereas IgA and IgG concentrations were not affected (P greater than .30).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)