Preliminary study on Se-enriched Lentinula edodes mycelium as a proposal of new feed additive in selenium deficiency.

Bożena Muszyńska,Anna Włodarczyk,Katarzyna Kała,Marek Pieszka,Piotr Suchocki,Jan Lazur,Dariusz Bednarek,Bogusława Budziszewska,Dorota Bederska-Łojewska,Ewelina Szacawa,Katarzyna Dudek,Bartosz Pomierny,Yi Hu

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0233456

Abstract

The presence of selenium in European soil is low and this causes its deficiency in livestock and, in consequence, in humans. This study aimed to obtain Lentinula (L.) edodes mycelium with the maximum content of selenium. This species was used for experiment based on its documented medicinal properties. Calves were fed with selenium-enriched L. edodes mycelium, and serum selenium concentration, average daily weight gains and selected immune parameters were estimated. The selenium-enriched mushroom was found to be safe based on cytotoxicity tests (MTT and LDH tests) and for this reason it was used for further experiments. The mean quantity of selenium in the serum of calves fed with selenium-enriched L. edodes mycelium was significantly higher than that of control calves. Additionally, the calves fed with selenium-enriched L. edodes mycelium had higher body weight gains than those of control calves. White blood cell counts and subpopulations of lymphocytes in the experimental and control calves were within the reference range. The administration of L. edodes enriched with selenium had a beneficial effect on state of health of the calves.

Highlights

The soil of Central European countries is deficient in selenium (Se), which is an essential element for livestock and humans
These facilitators resulted in maximal growth of the mycelium, which was obtained within 10 days of culture and markedly sooner than was seen for the control cultures without aeration
Selenium-enriched mycelium of L. edodes is characterized by the absence of any cytotoxic effect, which is advantageous for its dietary administration to control animal selenium deficiencies

Summary

Introduction

The soil of Central European countries is deficient in selenium (Se), which is an essential element for livestock and humans. Selenium-deficient soil translates into its deficiency in livestock, and in turn into its deficiency in humans. This deficiency has been linked to the increased incidence of serious diseases such as cancer and muscular weakness. With this awareness, Europeans are becoming more concerned about finding the possible solution to this deficiency [1]. The 1960s saw the first diagnoses of nutritional muscular dystrophy in calves, the cause of which was selenium deficiency.

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