Influence of multiple injections of vitamin E on intramuscular collagen and bone characteristics in suckling lambs

We studied the influence of vitamin E on intramuscular collagen characteris tics and on metacarpal growth plate evolution in suckling lambs. Twenty-fou r 5-d-old Ile de France suckling male lambs were divided into four equal we ight groups, and weekly i.m. injections of DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate (Con trol group, 0 IU; Group 1, 625 IU; Group 2, 1,000 IU; and Group 3, 1,500 IU ) were given until the lambs were 33 d old. Blood samples were withdrawn fo r plasma alpha-tocopherol, cholesterol, and triglyceride analyses when the lambs were slaughtered at 40 d of age. Hot carcass weight, metacarpal and m etatarsal bone characteristics, and metacarpal growth plate width were meas ured. After 24 h at 2 to 4 degrees C, semitendinosus muscles were removed f or intramuscular collagen analyses. Weight was not influenced by treatment, but lambs in Group 1 had a higher (P < .01) intramuscular collagen content than the other groups. A positive quadratic correlation was found between total collagen and vitamin E doses (r = .511; P < .05). Amount and percenta ge of soluble collagen increased in muscles of all three vitamin E-treated groups compared with the control group. However, hydroxylysyl pyridinoline concentration decreased with vitamin E injection, but the difference compar ed to control lambs was only significant for the group injected with 1,000 IU. Amount of soluble collagen was strongly correlated to total collagen co ncentration (r = .879; P < .0001). It was also related to the alpha-tocophe rol/(cholesterol + triglycerides) ratio in plasma (r = .431; P < .04). Howe ver, the correlation between soluble collagen percentage and alpha-tocopher ol concentration in plasma was not significant (r = .369; P < .08). Bone le ngth, weight, and diameter did not change, but the thickness of metacarpal growth plate increased as the DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate dose increased; i n Groups 2 and 3, the growth plate was significantly wider than in Group 1 and the controls. Growth plate width correlated with alpha-tocopherol/(chol esterol + triglycerides) ratio in plasma (r = .481; P < .02).