So does field experience. When vitamin E or other antioxidants aren't present, phospholipids oxidize and form prostaglandins, which inhibit inflammation and immune response. By blocking the synthesis of the prostaglandins, vitamin E appears to work much the way aspirin does. But it's hardly possible to talk about vitamin E without including the trace mineral selenium. Like vitamin E, the enzyme for which selenium is a cofactor acts as a free radical scavenger.
Vitamin E is an essential antioxidant in poultry.
Alone and in conjunction with the trace mineral selenium, vitamin E is a key component of their immunological response. A Cornell study showed how this relationship works. They were then injected with sheep red blood cells to measure their immune response. In commercial broiler production, the immune response at low antigen levels has significant practical applications. This is the age when chicks are especially susceptible to viral infections, since their maternal antibodies have been exhausted and their own immune systems haven't reached their maximum potential yet.