Effect of Selenium and Lipotropic Factors on Liver Fat Accumulation in Laying Hens ,

Two experiments were conducted with Single Comb White Leghorn laying hens to determine the effect of dietary additions of selenium, choline, inositol, vitamin B12 and vitamin E on liver fat accumulation and other criteria. In Experiment 1, adding 1 p.p.m. selenium to corn-soybean meal rations, with and without added fat, significantly reduced total fat accumulation per liver. Adding a combination of choline, inositol, vitamin B12 and vitamin E to the corn-soy diet without added fat significantly reduced liver fat accumulation and percent fat of the liver. On the other hand, a wheat-pea-fat basal containing about half the selenium content of the corn-soy diets resulted in a liver fat accumulation significantly lower than that observed with the corn-soy basal diets. Adding selenium or the lipotropic mix to this diet failed to significantly affect fat accumulation. None of the dietary treatments significantly affected egg production, egg weight, and body weight changes. In the second experiment, individually supplementing a corn-soy-fat basal ration with vitamin E, inositol, vitamin B12, choline and selenium or combinations of these nutritional factors failed to significantly affect liver fat accumulation or other criteria measured. The fat accumulation tended to be lower with choline supplementation, but the effects were not statistically significant (P > .05).