Immunological effects of feeding different sources of vitamin E and seaweed in a sheep herd during the winter season

In winter fed organic raised sheep inadequate plasma vitamin E levels is common and therefore supplementation is recommended. The objective of the present work was to test the supplementation of natural vitamin E and seaweed meal on the immune status of ewes and their offspring. Forty Norwegian White Sheep ewes were randomly allocated to three supplementation treatments: natural vitamin E, synthetic vitamin E, seaweed meal, and control. The feeding experiment lasted the entire indoor feeding period. Ewes and newborn lambs were vaccinated against different environmental microorganisms and pathogens. Different immunological parameters were measured Supplementing the ewes with natural vitamin E had positive effect on immunity against Mycobacterium bovis in lambs. Seaweed, on the other hand, had negative effect on the passive transfer of maternal antibodies in lambs the first week after birth. The adaptive immunity was not affected by seaweed supplementation.