Veterinary drug · Drug monograph

Vitamin E / Selenium: veterinary dose and monograph

Vitamin E / Selenium is a veterinary drug. A combination antioxidant injectable used to prevent and treat SELENIUM / VITAMIN E DEFICIENCY syndromes — most importantly NUTRITIONAL MYODEGENERATION ("white muscle disease") in calves, lambs, kids and foals, and selenium-responsive… Indications include nutritional myodegeneration / white muscle disease (calves, lambs, kids, foals); selenium/vitamin-E deficiency — prevention and treatment in livestock; selenium-responsive retained placenta / reproductive and immune problems (deficient herds). This monograph lists 5 reference doses for dogs, cattle, horses, sheep and pigs, each with route, frequency and source, plus meat and milk withdrawal periods for food animals.

At a glance

Drug class: Veterinary drug
Also known as: Selenium-Vitamin E, BoSe, Mu-Se, E-Se
Species with doses: Dogs, Cattle, Horses, Sheep and Pigs
Routes: IM, SC
Last reviewed: 1 October 2026

Indications

Nutritional myodegeneration / white muscle disease (calves, lambs, kids, foals)
Selenium/vitamin-E deficiency — prevention and treatment in livestock
Selenium-responsive retained placenta / reproductive and immune problems (deficient herds)
Antioxidant support in deficiency states

Vitamin E / Selenium dose by species

Doses are per administration unless stated. mg/kg doses scale with body weight; per-animal, per-quarter and infusion-rate doses are shown as the reference writes them.

Dogs

Vitamin E / Selenium doses for dogs
Indication	Dose	Route	Frequency	Duration
Selenium/vitamin-E responsive conditions	1 mg Se/mL product: 1 mL per 20 lb (min 0.25 mL, max 5 mL) SC/IM every 3 days, then maintenance 1 mL per 40 lb every 3–7 days	SC	q3 days, then q3–7 days	—

Selenium/vitamin-E responsive conditions: Plumb’s p.1170 (Seletoc label): split larger volumes over 2+ sites; re-evaluate if no response in 14 days.

Cattle

Vitamin E / Selenium doses for cattle
Indication	Dose	Route	Frequency	Duration	Withdrawal
White muscle disease / Se deficiency	≈0.055–0.083 mg selenium/kg: 1 mg Se/mL product — calves 2.5–3.75 mL per 100 lb; 5 mg Se/mL product — 1 mL per 200 lb (weanling calves, beef cows)	IM	once; repeat per label	—	30d slaughter

White muscle disease / Se deficiency: Plumb’s p.1170 (Bo-Se / Mu-Se labels): IM or SC; slaughter withdrawal 30 days; the 5 mg/mL product is for non-lactating dairy and beef cattle (breeding cows mid-pregnancy and 30 days before calving). Always dose by SELENIUM content — narrow margin; never stack selenium sources.

Horses

Vitamin E / Selenium doses for horses
Indication	Dose	Route	Frequency	Duration
Se/Vit-E deficiency / myopathy	2.5 mg Se/mL product: 1 mL per 100 lb slow IV or deep IM (split into 2+ sites); may repeat at 5–10-day intervals	IM	repeat q5–10 days as needed	—

Se/Vit-E deficiency / myopathy: Plumb’s p.1170 (E-Se label). Oral top-dress products (1 mg Se per teaspoon) are also labelled for horses. Confirm deficiency before repeated dosing.

Goats

Vitamin E / Selenium doses for goats
Indication	Dose	Route	Frequency	Duration	Withdrawal
No reference dose for this species	Not established in Papich 5e or Plumb’s 10e — do not extrapolate from another species	—	—	—	—

No reference dose for this species: The selenium/vitamin E injections in Plumb’s are labelled for cattle, sheep, pigs, horses and dogs — not goats — and Papich 5e has no selenium monograph. Goat use is extra-label; selenium toxicity occurs at small overdoses.

Sheep

Vitamin E / Selenium doses for sheep
Indication	Dose	Route	Frequency	Duration	Withdrawal
White muscle disease (lambs / ewes)	1 mg Se/mL product: lambs ≥2 weeks 1 mL per 40 lb (min 1 mL); ewes 2.5 mL per 100 lb. 0.25 mg Se/mL product: newborn lambs 1 mL, lambs ≥2 weeks 4 mL	IM	once; repeat per label	—	14d slaughter

White muscle disease (lambs / ewes): Plumb’s p.1170 (Bo-Se / L-Se labels): IM or SC; slaughter withdrawal 14 days. Sheep are selenium-sensitive — dose by selenium content, never exceed the label.

Pigs

Vitamin E / Selenium doses for pigs
Indication	Dose	Route	Frequency	Duration	Withdrawal
Se/Vit-E deficiency — mulberry heart disease / hepatosis dietetica	1 mg Se/mL product: sows and weanling pigs 1 mL per 40 lb (min 1 mL); 0.25 mg Se/mL product: baby pigs 1 mL	IM	once; repeat per label	—	14d slaughter

Se/Vit-E deficiency — mulberry heart disease / hepatosis dietetica: Plumb’s p.1170 (Bo-Se / L-Se labels): IM or SC; slaughter withdrawal 14 days; do not give the 1 mg/mL product to newborn pigs. Narrow margin — never stack selenium sources.

Buffalo

No buffalo-specific doses are on file, so buffalo are dosed as cattle.

Vitamin E / Selenium doses for buffalo
Indication	Dose	Route	Frequency	Duration	Withdrawal
White muscle disease / Se deficiency	≈0.055–0.083 mg selenium/kg: 1 mg Se/mL product — calves 2.5–3.75 mL per 100 lb; 5 mg Se/mL product — 1 mL per 200 lb (weanling calves, beef cows)	IM	once; repeat per label	—	30d slaughter

White muscle disease / Se deficiency: Plumb’s p.1170 (Bo-Se / Mu-Se labels): IM or SC; slaughter withdrawal 30 days; the 5 mg/mL product is for non-lactating dairy and beef cattle (breeding cows mid-pregnancy and 30 days before calving). Always dose by SELENIUM content — narrow margin; never stack selenium sources.

Contraindications

Animals from selenium-adequate/excess areas or already supplemented (toxicity risk). Overdosing / stacking selenium sources. Known hypersensitivity. IV administration of some products (anaphylactoid risk — use IM/SC per label). Observe food-animal withdrawal.

Species-specific warnings

Sheep: Sheep/lambs are sensitive to selenium toxicity — use the correct low-concentration product and dose; do not combine with other selenium sources.

Cattle: Narrow margin — dose strictly by body weight/selenium content and observe withdrawal; cumulative selenium from feed + injection can be fatal.

Adverse effects

Injection-site reaction/discomfort
Anaphylactoid reaction (especially if given IV)
Selenium TOXICITY on overdose: weakness, dyspnoea, recumbency, sudden death (acute); hoof/hair changes (chronic)

Drug interactions

Other selenium sources (feed, mineral mixes, boluses): additive — risk of cumulative selenium TOXICITY
No significant therapeutic drug interactions

Pregnancy and lactation

Used in pregnant/peripartum livestock in deficient herds (e.g. to prevent retained placenta and neonatal WMD); dose precisely to avoid selenium toxicity.

Monitoring

Selenium status / glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity and vitamin-E levels before repeated dosing
Muscle enzymes (CK/AST) in suspected white muscle disease (response)
Total selenium intake from ALL sources (avoid cumulative toxicity)
Injection-site reactions; food-animal withdrawal

Toxicity and overdose

Selenium has a NARROW therapeutic index. Acute overdose (mis-dosing/stacking sources) causes restlessness, weakness, dyspnoea, diarrhoea, recumbency and SUDDEN DEATH (cardiopulmonary). Chronic selenosis causes hair loss, hoof deformities/separation and lameness. Vitamin E itself is wide-margin; selenium is the dangerous component.

Management: No specific antidote for acute selenium toxicosis — supportive/intensive care (oxygen, IV fluids, cardiovascular support); prognosis is guarded for acute parenteral overdose. Prevent by precise dosing and avoiding multiple selenium sources. Chronic selenosis: remove the selenium source.

Clinical pearls

The treatment/prevention for white muscle disease in young stock from selenium-deficient regions — dose by SELENIUM content, not volume guesswork
Selenium is genuinely dangerous in overdose (sudden death) — never stack injectable selenium with selenium boluses/feed; confirm deficiency first
Sheep are particularly selenium-sensitive — use the appropriate low-concentration product and lamb dose
Give IM/SC per label, not IV (anaphylactoid risk), and observe food-animal withdrawal

Mechanism of action

Selenium is the essential cofactor of glutathione peroxidase and vitamin E (α-tocopherol) is a lipid-phase antioxidant; together they neutralise reactive oxygen species and protect cell membranes (especially muscle) from oxidative peroxidative damage. Deficiency leads to oxidative myofibre necrosis (white muscle disease); supplementation restores antioxidant defence and prevents/limits the myodegeneration.

Formulations and products

Injection — Selenium 0.5 mg/mL + Vitamin E 50 IU/mL (e.g. BoSe-type)
Injection — Selenium 3 mg/mL + Vitamin E 150 IU/mL (Mu-Se, cattle/horses)
BoSe (Merck Animal Health) — Selenium 0.5 mg/mL + Vitamin E 50 IU/mL, Injection (IM/SC)
Mu-Se / E-Se (Merck Animal Health) — Selenium 3 mg/mL + Vitamin E 150 IU/mL, Injection (IM)
Microstar-H (Micro Animal Health Care (Micro Labs group), Bengaluru) — Vitamin H 1000 mcg + Vitamin E 50 mg + Vitamin A 20000 IU + Vitamin D3 10000 IU + Selenium 6 mcg + Vitamin B12 1 mcg + Pueraria mirifica 5 mg + Amla 7 mg per mL, Oral liquid
Polvit-H (VetMed Pvt Ltd, Kolkata) — Vitamin A 20000 IU + Vitamin D3 5000 IU + Vitamin E 50 mg + Vitamin B12 10 mcg + Selenium 100 mcg + Biotin 15 mcg per 5 mL, Oral antioxidant syrup
Vet-H (Assure Biotech, Jagadhri (HR)) — Biotin 110 mcg + Selenium 8 mg + Vitamin A 20000 IU + Vitamin D3 10000 IU + Vitamin E 65 mg + Vitamin B12 20 mcg + Vitamin C 60 mg per mL (as printed), Oral liquid concentrate
Stagovit-H (Assure Biotech, Jagadhri (HR)) — Biotin 500 mcg (list) or 60 mcg (catalogue) + Selenium 6 mcg (list) or 6 mg (catalogue) + Vitamin A 20000 IU + Vitamin D3 10000 IU + Vitamin E 50-60 mg per mL, Oral liquid concentrate

Storage

Injection: 15–30 °C, protect from light; do not freeze. Use IM/SC per label (avoid IV).

Before you use this dose

Reference doses for veterinary professionals. Confirm the dose against the product label, the patient’s condition, current guidance and local regulations before use; the attending veterinarian remains responsible for every clinical decision.

Frequently asked questions

What is the dose of Vitamin E / Selenium for dogs?

Reference doses for Vitamin E / Selenium in dogs: 1 mg Se/mL product: 1 mL per 20 lb (min 0.25 mL, max 5 mL) SC/IM every 3 days, then maintenance 1 mL per 40 lb every 3–7 days SC q3 days, then q3–7 days (Selenium/vitamin-E responsive conditions). Confirm against the label and the patient before use.

What is the dose of Vitamin E / Selenium for cattle?

Reference doses for Vitamin E / Selenium in cattle: ≈0.055–0.083 mg selenium/kg: 1 mg Se/mL product — calves 2.5–3.75 mL per 100 lb; 5 mg Se/mL product — 1 mL per 200 lb (weanling calves, beef cows) IM once; repeat per label (White muscle disease / Se deficiency). Confirm against the label and the patient before use.

What is the dose of Vitamin E / Selenium for horses?

Reference doses for Vitamin E / Selenium in horses: 2.5 mg Se/mL product: 1 mL per 100 lb slow IV or deep IM (split into 2+ sites); may repeat at 5–10-day intervals IM repeat q5–10 days as needed (Se/Vit-E deficiency / myopathy). Confirm against the label and the patient before use.

What is the withdrawal period for Vitamin E / Selenium?

Cattle, IM (White muscle disease / Se deficiency): 30d slaughter; Sheep, IM (White muscle disease (lambs / ewes)): 14d slaughter; Pigs, IM (Se/Vit-E deficiency — mulberry heart disease / hepatosis dietetica): 14d slaughter. Follow the product label and national regulations where they differ.

When should Vitamin E / Selenium not be used?

What are the side effects of Vitamin E / Selenium in animals?

Injection-site reaction/discomfort; Anaphylactoid reaction (especially if given IV); Selenium TOXICITY on overdose: weakness, dyspnoea, recumbency, sudden death (acute); hoof/hair changes (chronic).

Sources

Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook
Merck Veterinary Manual, 11th edition
Papich, Papich Handbook of Veterinary Drugs, 5th edition

Last reviewed 1 October 2026 · VetMasterJi