[Hematological parameters, selenium concentration and glutathione peroxidase activities in serum and the liver of rats at different selenium and vitamin E levels].

The aim of the both experiments was to determine whether selenium or selenium/vitamin E supply of rats significantly influences the most important hematological criteria. With experiment 1 the influence of Se deficiency should be determined at two different times of growing. So 36 weaned rats were divided into 2 groups of 18 animals each, the half of them being decapitated at day 22, the rest on day 45. In experiment 2 with the aim to investigate a combination of deficient, adequate and excessive Se and vitamin E supply 90 weaned rats in 9 groups were decapitated at day 44. The basic diet contained 0.04 mg Se and 8 mg vitamin E per kg dry matter and was supplemented in exp. 1 with 0 mg or 0.2 mg Se and 30 mg vitamin E and in exp. 2 with 0 mg, 0.2 mg or 1.0 mg Se and 0 mg, 30 mg or 200 mg vitamin E. With Se deficiency Se concentration and GSH-Px activity in serum and liver were significantly reduced. With excessive Se supply Se concentration in serum was higher; there was no effect on GSH-Px activity. Vitamin E supply had no influence neither on Se content nor on GSH-Px activity in serum or in liver. In exp. 1 Se deficiency caused no clear changes of the analysed hematological criteria although the increase of MCV (+3%) and hematocrit (+7%) on day 22 and the increase of leucocytes (+43%) and the decrease of MCH (-3%) and MCHC (-6%) on day 45 were statistically significant. In exp. 2 these results could not be repeated. The vitamin E supply was without significant effects on the examined hematological parameters.