Experimental anaphylaxis in pigs. The influence of the vitamin E content in the feed.

An anaphylactic reaction was provoked in pigs by two intravenous injections of chicken egg albumin given approx. 2 weeks apart; some of the animals were in a state of vitamin E deficiency. The second injection of albumin was followed by vomiting, forced respiration, severe cyanosis and distinct edema in the stomach, larynx and gall bladder. These pathomorphological changes are in accordance with those regarded as typical for edema disease. Both the clinical symptoms and the pathomorphological alterations were most evident in animals with vitamin E supplementation, whereas vitamin E deficient animals showed a more moderate response. The anaphylactic reaction was not accompanied by evident changes resembling Mulberry heart disease, either in normal pigs or in vitamin E deficient animals.