Glutathione as an antioxidant marker: determination of glutathione concentration in the breast muscles and liver of broilers supplemented with different selenium sources

Karolína Mikulková,Zdenka Bezděková,Ivana Šimková,J Illek

doi:10.2754/avb201988020157

Karolína Mikulková, Zdenka Bezděková + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201988020157

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the influence of different selenium sources on antioxidant properties. The glutathione (GSH) concentration and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity were measured in the breast muscles and liver of 60 one-day-old broiler chickens. Another goal was to compare these indices with the weights of individual tissues and the live weight of broilers. The broilers were divided into 4 groups according to the selenium source: group 1 (control), group 2 (selenized yeast), group 3 (selenomethionine), group 4 (sodium selenite). Treatment groups were supplemented with 0.2 mg of additional selenium/kg. No significant changes in the hepatic GSH concentrations (P> 0.05) were found in the experimental groups compared to control. Significantly higher GSH concentration (P< 0.05) was found in breast muscles of broilers in group 4 (sodium selenite) compared to control. However, no positive effect of selenium supplementation in the form of sodium selenite was observed. The differences in the GPx activity in breast muscles and liver between the experimental groups and the control group were not significant (P> 0.05). No significant differences were recorded in the experimental groups compared to control in relation to the GSH concentration and GPx activity measured in the tissues. A significantly positive correlation was noted between mean GPx activity in breast muscle and breast muscle weight (P< 0.01; r = 0.3790) and live weight (P< 0.05; r = 0.2690). Although changes in the GSH concentration and GPx activity were recorded in some experimental groups, the selected dose of additional selenium appeared to be too low to affect these concentrations and the antioxidant defence system.

Highlights

The aim of the study was to determine the influence of different selenium sources on antioxidant properties
No significant differences were recorded in the experimental groups compared to control in relation to the GSH concentration and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity measured in the tissues
The hepatic GSH concentration was around 2.0 μmol/g in all groups (1.99–2.17 μmol/g) which corresponds with previous studies

Summary

Introduction

The aim of the study was to determine the influence of different selenium sources on antioxidant properties. Glutathione protects cells from oxidative stress directly by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) as free radicals and peroxides that are formed in metabolism and by using glutathione-dependent enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) (Meister 1983; Cappiello et al 2013). For this reason, it is an extremely important endogenous antioxidant and plays a key role in the antioxidant defence system (Enkvetchakul et al 1995). The GSH/GSSG ratio may be considered the best indicator of oxidative stress (Tarin 1966; Tarin et al 1998; Avanzo et al 2001; Kaneko et al 2001)

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