Effect of selenium on peripheral blood leucocytes of chickens infected with Eimeria

Patients with chronic leg ulcers show diminished levels of vitamins A and E, carotenes, and zinc

BACKGROUND

Nutrition plays an important role in the wound healing process, particularly in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE

Comparison of nutritional serum indices between patients with chronic leg ulcers and an age-matched control population.

METHODS

Seventeen patients with chronic leg ulcers (age range 47-90) were studied. A panel of vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, B12, E), trace elements (zinc, copper, iron), folate, and carotene levels were screened on fasting blood samples. Study data were compared with data obtained from the nutritional status survey (NSS) in the greater Boston area.

RESULTS

Significantly lower levels of vitamin A (P < 0.0001), zinc (P < 0. 0001 men, P = 0.027 women) and carotenes (P = 0.0023 men, P = 0.0067 women) were found in chronic ulcer patients. Significantly lower levels of vitamin E (P < 0.009) were observed in the men with a tendency to lower levels in women.

CONCLUSION

Elderly Bostonian patients with chronic leg ulcers have low levels of vitamins A and E, carotenes, and zinc. Nutritional deficiency or increased consumption of nutritional elements in these patients may influence wound healing rates.

Relationship between selenium, immunity and resistance against infection

1. Food selenium content, selenium supply and selenium needs are presented, along with methods of evaluation of selenium status. Glutathione peroxidase, a selenium-containing enzyme, is ubiquitous in the organism. 2. Some experimental studies on animal models reported a positive relationship between selenium status and resistance against infections. 3. Only one study in humans concerned the mechanisms of immune functions in selenium deficiency. Several experimental works suggest that severe selenium deficiency compromises T-cell dependent immune functions such as the blastogenic response to mitogens, but selenium deficiency was concomitant with vitamin E deficiency in most of them. Delayed hypersensitivity response is controversial in selenium-supplemented rats and guinea-pigs. 4. Selenium deficiency in animals decreases the antibody response, especially if associated with vitamin E deficiency. Low dietary selenium supplementation of healthy animals has a positive effect upon humoral responses. 5. Despite some controversies, most experimental studies on selenium-deficient animals report normal phagocytosis and an altered bactericidal capacity of neutrophils. The decrease in glutathione peroxidase activity of polymorphonuclear cells following selenium deficiency could explain some of these alterations. 6. Splenic Natural Killer cells activity is enhanced in selenium-supplemented, healthy animals.

Influence of vitamin E and selenium supplement on antibody production in horses

Fifteen horses used for serum production were maintained on low vitamin E and selenium diets. They were divided into four groups receiving: Group 1 no supplements, Group 2 vitamin E, Group 3 selenium and Group 4 both vitamin E and selenium. The humoral immune response to novel antigens, such as tetanus toxoid and equine influenza virus, was increased in groups receiving either vitamin E or selenium/vitamin E. No effects were recorded on the titres against Escherichia coli or the levels of immunoglobulin G.

Effect of selenium and vitamin E on the development of immunity to coccidiosis in chickens

Six experiments were conducted using broiler chickens to study the effect of selenium (Se) or vitamin E supplementation of a corn-soybean meal diet on the immune response to coccidiosis. Immunized chickens fed diets supplemented with .25 ppm Se or 100 IU vitamin E/kg of diet had increased body weight gain and feed intake and a tendency for lower feed conversion ratio than chickens fed unsupplemented diet after a challenge with 150,000 oocysts of Eimeria tenella. In two experiments, chickens fed .25 and .50 ppm of Se and immunized against E. tenella had higher body weight gain and a tendency for higher feed intake and lower feed conversion ratio than unsupplemented chickens when challenged with 150,000 oocysts of E. tenella. Except for a reduction on cecal lesion scores and blood packed cell volume in Experiments 1 and 4, respectively, no dietary effect was observed on cecal lesion score or blood packed cell volume of immunized chickens. Dietary supplementation with selenium or vitamin E reduced mortality and increased body weight gain of nonimmunized chickens infected with E. tenella in three of four experiments. These studies suggest that immunization of chickens against coccidiosis is enhanced by Se or vitamin E supplementation.