Abstract
A study was made of the effects of barley feeds containing varying levels of natural grain selenium derived from fertilizer and of the effects of sodium selenite on selenium concentrations in the tissues of growing pigs and on the histological structure of myocardium and longissimus muscle. The results indicated that organic grain selenium affects the selenium levels of porcine tissues significantly more than sodium selenite supplementation of the same amount. The organic selenium concentrations of feed and organs were found to be linearly correlated. Spleen, lung and heart were the most reliable indicators of tissue selenium level in pigs. The selenium concentration of muscles of pigs fed on naturally seleniferous feed (270 µg Se/kg DM) was at the internationally level (500 µg Se/kg DM in meat), whereas the same amount of selenite in feed increased the selenium level of muscle only slightly (to 200/µg Se/kg DM). The histological structures of heart and muscle of pigs fed on naturally seleniferous feed were normal, whereas in the selenite group there were signs of muscle dystrophy when the selenium level was below 200 µg Se/kg DM. In addition, the pigs given selenite were subsequently placed in a lower, fat-containing carcass class. Feed with a natural organic selenium level of 150—200 µg Se/kg DM is preferred to selenite selenium supplement in pork production.
Highlights
The low selenium content in Finnish fodder plants (Oksanen and Sandholm 1970, Kurkela 1982) makes it necessary to add selenium compounds to feeds during their production
Index words: pig, sodium selenite, organic selenium animal tissues resulting from the use of these fertilizers for growing feed grain should be investigated and the effects of elevated tissue selenium contents examined from the point of foodstuffs hygiene
The selenium content of the feed given to Groups II and 111, 270 /xg Se/kg DM, was of the same order as the mean natural selenium content of feed grain grown in the selenium-rich area of the USA (Kubota et al 1967)
Summary
The low selenium content in Finnish fodder plants (Oksanen and Sandholm 1970, Kurkela 1982) makes it necessary to add selenium compounds to feeds during their production. Inorganic selenium supplements in feed have not always had the desired effect. Nutritional muscular dystrophy (NMD) has occurred even when the selenium content of the feed has been 0.1 mg Se/kg DM. Selenium-containing fertilizers can be used to elevate the selenium content of feed. Index words: pig, sodium selenite, organic selenium animal tissues resulting from the use of these fertilizers for growing feed grain should be investigated and the effects of elevated tissue selenium contents examined from the point of foodstuffs hygiene. The object of the present study was to investigate the effects of feed with varying levels of organic and inorganic selenium on health organ selenium content macroscopic and histological structure of the muscles in the pig
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