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PONE-D-22-00873Tocopherol more bioavailable than tocopheryl-acetate as a source of vitamin E for broilers.PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Theo van Kempen,

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Academic Editor

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 [The work was funded by the employer of several of the authors]. 

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Additional Editor Comments:

Authors shoud explain why such period of the study was chosen; next - the composition of premixes shoud be given; how the studied doses were chosen, based on what; the production performance should be given.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: I Don't Know

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: Comments to the Authors of manuscript number: PONE-D-22-00873 entitled „Tocopherol more bioavailable than tocopheryl-acetate as a source of vitamin E for broilers”.

Major concerns:

Line 24-25: In addition, two test procedures were evaluated in which animals received the test substances for either 2 or 4 days only. Why was this done? Please explain.

Linia 99-100: what about the content of vitamins in the starter and grower premixes? Was it the same?

Line 112: “…supplied at 5 different levels…” – what levels exactly? The experimental setup should be presented in a table, as it is illegible in the present form. The choice and level of the factor should be explicit and clear. What was the basis for the choice of these levels?

Line 117-118: “…which the test components (contained in a premix)....” - In the composition of the premixes, the amounts or levels of the tested additives should be specified below the table or separately in another table.

Line 172: “Serum vitamin E levels were well in line with expectations.” Why was it done if the result was known in advance?

Line 284-285: “No efforts were made in this study to assess the impact of vitamin E on for example

oxidative stress. As such, no recommendations can be made on optimal inclusion.” It is a pity. There are also no production performance results indicated by the research, which would increase the value of the study.

In the discussion, the authors focus on comparison of their research results with studies conducted by other authors. There is no precise interpretation of the results, which is necessary to regard the publication as valuable. Even when the authors try to explain the results of their research, they actually repeat the information contained in the literature they refer to. There is no broader view of the problem. Therefore, I believe that this section is insufficient and needs improvement.

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Reviewer #1: No

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Tocopherol more bioavailable than tocopheryl-acetate as a source of vitamin E for broilers.

PONE-D-22-00873R1

Dear Dr. Theo van Kempen,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Ewa Tomaszewska, DVM Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: (No Response)

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: I Don't Know

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: (No Response)

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No