Effect of the Dietary Level of Tocopherols on Their Metabolism in Swine

Abstract

Five barrows, placed on experiment immediately after weaning, were maintained on a vitamin E-low, purified ration for 75 days. Two animals served as controls and three received a supplement of a concentrate of mixed tocopherols at levels of 2.87, 55.12 and 110.2 mg daily per kilogram live weight. When slaughtered, organs, tissues, body fats, and blood were obtained and analyzed for total and gamma- plus delta-tocopherol contents, using the intermediate step of molecular distillation. Tocopherol supplementation increased significantly the total tocopherol content in all cases studied, while it increased the gamma- plus delta-tocopherol content significantly only in the case of whole blood. Zero values were obtained for blood plasma from the control animals, as contrasted with values of 84 and 90 μg/100 ml for whole blood. Tocopherol supplementation markedly affected the fatty acid composition of the body fats by increasing the percentage of oleic acid at the expense of the saturated fatty acids.