Influence of vitamin E on immune reactions of turkeys

In contrast to the chicken little is known on the influence of vitamin E on immune reactions of the turkey. In a first experiment, 5 groups of one-day -old turkey poults received food supplemented with different dosages of alp ha -tocopheryle acetate. The poults were inoculated with the test antigens NDV vaccine strain LaSota and injected with sheep red blood cells (SRBC). a nd were tested for antibody production using the haemagglutination inhibiti on (HI) acid haemagglutination test (HA). respectively. While the developme nt of HI antibodies against NDV was not improved, the groups with 400 and 8 00 mg vitamin E/kg food showed a positive effect on the antibody production after the application of the T-cell dependent antigen SRBC. In a second ex periment, poults receiving a diet with 400 mg vitamin E/kg food were again vaccinated with NDV. No enhancement of antibody titers to NDV measured in t he ELISA could be observed. However, the onset of specific antibody product ion began earlier. The effect of vitamin E on the cellular immune system wa s examined in this experiment in the lymphocyte transformation assay (LTA) using Concanavalin A as mitogen. The vitamin E supplemented group revealed a significant higher lymphocyte stimulation rate than the control group.