Interaction of ascorbic acid and vitamin E in alleviating selenium toxicity in chicks

The possible interaction of other nutrients on the ameliorating effect of ascorbic acid on selenium toxicity in chicks has been investigated. Although the corn-soy basel diet used contained adequate amounts of all the known vitamins required by the chick, increasing the level of vitamin supplementation and ascorbic acid resulted in a significant interaction in that the combination was synergistic in overcoming selenium toxicity. To determine which of the vitamins were important in this interaction with ascorbic acid, an experiment was conducted in which vitamins A, D, E, and K in combination or the B vitamins were supplied in excess. The interactant was found to be among the fat soluble vitamins. A factorial experiment testing the effect of Se, ascorbic acid, and alpha toxopheryl acetate (vit. E) on chick growth revealed a significant interaction in that the combination of ascorbic acid and vit. E was more effective in overcoming selenium toxicity than either alone. Neither butylhydroxytoluene nor diphenylphenylenediamine could replace ascorbic acid in the interaction with vitamin E.