Nutritive value of marine oils. II. Effects of<i>in vivo</i> antioxidants in feeding menhaden oil to swine

Abstract

Abstract Five pair‐groups of swine were fed diets composed of crude feed materials to which 10% of clay‐bleached, light cold‐pressed menhaden oil was added. The oil was allowed to oxidize under controlled conditions and aliquots of fresh and oxidized oil were removed at peroxide values (PV) of 2.6, 15.5, and 61舒each of which was fed to one group of animals. Two additional animal groups received diets containing the highly oxidized oil (PV=61) plus either alpha‐tocopherol acetate or ethoxyquin. All oils were stored frozen and were mixed with the diets daily. Lard was fed at a similar 10% level to a control group of pigs. Both feed intakes and weight gains were progressively reduced as the diet oil was more highly oxidized. As oxidation of the oil increased, intensity of 舠yellow fat舡 increased and hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were progressively decreased. Both alpha‐tocopherol acetate and ethoxyquin acted in vivo to improve feed intake, rate of gain, and blood condition, and eliminated the incidence of steatitis.