Nutritional factors affecting the occurrence of experimental encephalomalacia in chicks

Potato starch used as an ingredient in a semi-synthetic vitamin E-deficient diet containing oxidized safflower oil, with or without BHT supplementation, caused a higher incidence of encephalomalacia than did corn starch. Oxidized safflower oil was most effective in promoting the disease followed by oxidized soybean oil, fresh safflower oil and oxidized soybean-oil soapstock. Cod liver oil, either fresh or oxidized, caused relatively few cases of this disease. Fresh soybean oil or soybean soapstock did not induce encephalomalacia. Yellow corn or soybean soapstock, when added to an encephalomalacia-inducing diet, lowered the incidence of the disease in proportion to the amount of α-tocopherol or total reducing substances which they supplied. Dietary non α-tocopherol reducing substances markedly decreased mortality due to encephalomalacia in the presence of relatively low levels of dietary α-tocopherol.