Lactating animals are exposed to oxidative stress (OS) which influences milk composition and physicochemical properties. Administration of vitamin E could mitigate the effects of the OS and improve milk production. This study was conducted to determine the effects of vitamin E administration on some milk constituents and physicochemical parameters of lactating West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Eighteen WAD does with mean live-weight of 17.5kg ± 0.04 were assigned randomly to three treatments of six does each. The animals were administered with 0, 75 and 150I.U of vitamin E once in a week for twelve weeks. Milk protein (MP) and milk fat (MF) were determined for milk constituents while milk titratable acidity (MTA) and milk specific gravity (MSG) for milk physicochemical parameters. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA in a completely randomized design factorial arrangement of 3×2×4×3 using SAS (2002). Results showed that MP, MF, MTA and MSG of lactating WAD goats were not significantly (p>0.05) influenced by vitamin E administration. The study concluded that 150 I.U of vitamin E had no effect on some milk constituents and milk physicochemical parameters.

Keywords: Vitamin E, Milk Protein, Milk Fat, Milk Specific Gravity and Titratable Acidity.