Vitamin E Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Vitamin E, including details on benefits, dosage, supplements, antioxidants.

Enhancing alpha-tocopherol and linoleic acid in ewe's milk by feeding emulsified sunflower oil and DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate in a chemically treated protein matrix.

Lee JH, Waller JC, Melton SL

Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA. leej@fvsu.edu

Chemically treated dietary supplements (CTDS) were prepared with defatted soy flour, sunflower oil, dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate (TA), and 2,3-butanedione (a generally recognized as safe chemical), and the effects on alpha-tocopherol (VE) concentration and fatty acid profile in ewe's milk were estimated. Ewes fed control diet (CD) had the lowest levels of milk VE (0.66 microg/mL) and serum VE (1.59 microg/mL). Feeding ewes the CD plus 500 IU of TA increased milk and serum VE by 30 and 70%, respectively, compared to ewes fed the CD. The CTDS-fed ewes showed further increased milk and serum VE levels by 40 and 32%, respectively, over those in ewes fed the CD plus 500 IU of TA. Feeding ewes CTDS did not affect milk fat content (3.13%) but altered the fatty acid composition by decreasing the levels of hypercholesteremic fatty acids, while increasing the content of linoleic acid (8.5%). Inclusion of CTDS in ruminant diets might produce nutritionally enhanced milk products.

Published 3 August 2005 in J Agric Food Chem, 53(16): 6463-8.
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