Vitamin E Deficiency in Chicks II. Plasma Xanthophyll Levels and Vitamin E Deficiency Symptoms

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Abstract
Oral supplements of crude xanthophyll prevented the appearance of deficiency symptoms in 23 of 48 chicks raised on the vitamin E-deficient basal diet. This protection is ascribed to the anti-oxidant activity of the xanthophylls. The addition of 20% cod liver oil to the natural diet caused a marked fall in the plasma-xanthophyll level. Vitamin E deficiency symptoms occurred in these animals when the plasma-xanthophyll level had decreased to 0.1 density units, thus indicating a correlation between the destruction of xanthophyll by cod liver oil and the appearance of symptoms. Some unknown factor (probably the unsaturated fatty acids) in cod liver oil, as well as vitamin A, contributes to the destruction of xanthophyll. The protection of xanthophyll by tocopherol occurs only in the gastrointestinal tract.