ABSTRACT
Dietary vitamin E was first shown to improve growth of an insect in 1946 by G. Fraenkel and M. Blewett, working with the lepidopterans, Anagasta kuehniella and A. elutella. Fraenkel and Blewett also found that vitamin E acted as an anti-oxidant for the polyunsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid, which itself improved growth and was required for the emergence of normal adults. The reproductive effect of vitamin E deficiency in Acheta is to prevent spermiogenesis that is, the transformation of spermatids to spermatozoa. In this respect, the effect is similar to the effect on the rat, although in the rat there are other histopathological effects, such as degeneration of the epithelium of the seminiferous tubule. Turning to growth, an effect of vitamin E on the growth of the male can only be demonstrated at adequate levels of dietary Cu. Consideration has been given to the possibility of producing sterile males with a view to insect control.
