Effects of selenium and vitamin E supplementation on selenium distribution and meat quality of pigs

Abstract

The study was conducted on 60 pigs kept in individual pens. The animals were allocated to four groups. The growing-finishing pigs from the control group were fed with basic feed containing 0.3 mg selenium (Se) derived from Na2SeO3 kg−1 and 60 mg of dl-α-tocopheryl acetate kg−1. The remaining three groups were differentiated by adding 0.2 mg kg−1 Se-enriched yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and/or 60 mg vitamin E to feed (grower and finisher). Our results show that the addition of organic Se to inorganic Se commonly used in pig feed caused a significant increase in hepatic Se and muscle. This indicates the possibility of using these products as functional foods to improve Se status in humans residing within regions which are deficient in this trace element. We found no beneficial effect of supplementation with vitamin E and Se on the quality of the meat.