Some Effects of Feeding Various Filled Milks to Dairy Calves. III. Blood Plasma Tocopherol and Vitamin A Levels, Diet Storage Effects, and Evidence of Toxicity

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Abstract
Low blood plasma tocopherol levels were found in calves fed corn oil filled milk, despite a relatively high tocopherol intake. Both plasma tocopherol and vitamin A values declined progressively during the experimental period in the corn oil group. Low blood plasma tocopherol levels also occurred in animals fed lard or butter oil prepared from oxidized butter. Oral supplementation of the corn oil and lard diets with 500 mg of dl-alpha tocopherol or alpha tocopheryl acetate daily resulted in high plasma tocopherol values. A loss of 30-40% of the total tocopherol content of the corn oil filled milk resulted during a storage period of 7 days. An extremely high peroxide content developed in the corn oil filled milk during a similar storage period. The possible toxicity of corn oil filled milk to dairy calves is discussed in detail.