Seleniumand vitamin E are important antioxidants for cells and tissues protection actingdirectly as a support for the udder health. This experiment was designed toevaluate the influence of prepartum selenium and vitamin E supplementation onmilk somatic cell counts of Holstein cows. Eighty four animals were allocatedinto four treatments: control; supplementation with 5 mg Se/day; supplementationwith 1000 UI vitamin E/day and supplementation with 5 mg Se/day + 1000 UI vitaminE/day. The supplementation started thirty days prior to probable parturitiondate until parturition. Forage and concentrate samples were taken every fifteendays for chemical, selenium and vitamin E analyses. Blood samples were takenbefore starting supplementation, right after parturition, thirty and sixty daysafter it to determine the selenium serum levels. Milk samples were taken todetermine SCC. Selenium supplemented cows had higher serum selenium concentrationcompared with control group. The selenium decreased SCC up to 8thweek of lactation playing an important role on immune response of bovine mamarygland.
