Vitamin E, selenium and methionine supplementation of dystrophogenic diets for pigs.

Forty-eight weanling S.P.F. Yorshire pigs were used to study the influence of supplemental vitamin E (25 IU per kg of diet) selenium (0.5 ppm in diet) and methionine (0.1% in diet) on the incidence of hepatosis dietetica and mulberry heart disease when fed a torula yeast-corn diet. Vitamin E and/or selenium increased pig survival. Supplemental selenium resulted in increased liver selenium concentrations. No hepatosis dietetica was observed in any of the pigs. The addition of vitamin E and/or selenium at the levels used did not reduce the frequency of myocardial lesions; however, they prevented skeletal muscular dystrophy and exudative diathesis. The myocardial lesions were less severe in supplemented pigs compared with unsupplemented controls.