The Vitamin E-Deficiency Syndrome in Pigs

Abstract

Four feeding experiments with fat-rich diets were performed to study the gross and histologic pathology of the vitamin E-deficiency syndrome in pigs. The pathologic changes which occurred included skeletal and heart muscle dystrophy with degenerative and micro- thrombotic vessel injury, anaemia, liver necrosis (hepatosis diaetetica) and yellow discoloration of the fat tissue (yellow-fat disease). In some cases clear-cut pathologic changes corresponding to “mulberry heart disease” or hepatosis diaetetica occurred, but there was an obvious tendency for these pathologic conditions, as well as for muscle dystrophy and yellow fat to occur simultaneously. The changes could be counteracted with alphatocopherol, while supplement of selenium or sulphur-containing amino acids did not protect against the lesions under the conditions of these experiments. This may be due to the high content of unsaturated fatty acids in the experimental diets. Contradictory to earlier reports, hepatosis diaetetica developed on diets containing casein as a source of protein, and even when extra supplements of sulphur-containing amino acids were given. In these experiments „mulberry heart disease” was induced experimentally in vitamin E-deficient pigs. The explanation why several of these pigs belonged to groups with extra amino acids or selenium supplement may be a somewhat improved rate of growth in these groups.