Influence of Dietary Vitamin E and Selenium on Distribution of Se 75 In the Chick. ∗

Abstract

Summary

Three-week-old chicks fed either a Vit. E deficient or supplemented diet were intraperitoneally injected with Se⁷⁵, and distribution of the isotope was determined in various tissues at 24, 48, and 168 hours after injection. Similarly, 2-week-old chicks fed a selenium deficient or supplemented diet were given an oral dose of Se⁷⁵ and the distribution of the isotope in several tissues was determined at 24 and 168 hours after administration. Vitamin E had no effect on distribution of selenium, but selenium itself had a marked effect on the uptake and retention of radioselenium. One-half of the dose was retained by selenium-deficient chicks at 7 days, whereas only 1/5 of the dose was retained by chicks fed 1 ppm selenium from day-of-age. Considerable selenium was deposited and retained in the cerebellum of chicks even though this element cannot prevent encephalomalacia.