Tissue alpha-tocopherol concentrations following supplementation with various forms of vitamin E in sheep.

Tissue alpha-tocopherol concentrations were determined in 40 lambs following oral supplementation of various forms of vitamin E. Lambs were allocated to 8 dietary groups of 5 animals each and supplemented with or without equimolar amounts (300 mg equivalence) of different vitamin E compounds daily for 60 d as follows: 1) control, no supplemental vitamin E; 2) D-alpha-tocopheryl acetate; 3) DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate; 4) DL-alpha-tocopheryl nicotinate; 5) D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1,000 succinate (TPGS); 6) DL-alpha-tocopheryl nicotinate+TPGS; 7) D-alpha-tocopheryl acetate+TPGS; and 8) D-alpha-tocopheryl succinate. At the end of the 60 d the lambs were killed and portions of adrenal, fat, heart, kidney, liver, lung, skeletal (brachiocephalicus and gluteus) muscles, pancreas and spleen were removed. Daily supplementation with various vitamin E compounds (equivalence) in lambs resulted in significant differences in tissue alpha-tocopherol concentration in heart, liver, gluteus medius muscle, and spleen. Correlations between the plasma and tissue alpha-tocopherol levels were highly significant for all tissues except adrenal, fat, and pancreas.