Abstract
BackgroundSelenium (Se) has been recognized as an essential micronutrient for nearly all forms of life. In recent decades, broiler responses to dietary Se supplemental levels and sources have received considerable attention. On environmental grounds, organic trace mineral utilization in practical broiler feeds has been defended due to its higher bioavailability. In such feeds, trace minerals are provided simultaneously in the same supplement as inorganic salts or organic chelates, a fact commonly ignored in assays conducted to validate organic trace mineral sources. The current assay aimed to investigate growth and biochemical responses, as well as Se retention of growing chicks fed diets supplemented with organic and inorganic Se levels and where the trace minerals (zinc, copper, manganese, and iron) were provided as organic chelates or inorganic salts according to Se source assessed. In so doing, a 2 × 5 factorial arrangement was used to investigate the effects of sodium selenite (SS) and selenium-yeast (SY) supplemented in feeds to provide the levels of 0, 0.08, 0.16, 0.24, and 0.32 mg Se/kg.ResultsChicks fed selenium-yeast diets had body weight (BW), and average daily gain (ADG) maximized at 0.133 and 0.130 mg Se/kg, respectively. Both Se sources linearly increased (P < 0.05) the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in chick blood but higher values were observed in sodium selenite fed chicks (P < 0.05). Both Se sources influenced thyroid hormone serum concentrations (P < 0.05). Chicks fed SY exhibited greater retention of Se in the feathers (P < 0.05). Relative bioavailability of selenium yeast compared with SS for the Se content in carcass, feathers, total and Se retention were, 126, 116, 125 and 125%, respectively. SY supplementation resulted in lower liver Se concentration as Se supplementation increased (P < 0.05).ConclusionsBased on performance traits, the supplemental level of organic Se as SY in organic trace minerals supplement to support the maximal growth of broiler chicks is 0.133 mg Se/kg.
Highlights
Selenium (Se) has been recognized as an essential micronutrient for most forms of life
The broiler chicks receiving a diet with 0.160 mg Se/kg as SY and organic trace minerals showed higher body weight (BW) (P < 0.05), average daily gain (ADG) (P < 0.05) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P < 0.05) compared with the sodium selenite (SS) and inorganic trace minerals at the same supplementation level
Among the SY treatments, the highest values for BW and ADG were at intermediate dietary Se levels, (Table 1), and the optimal supplementation levels were estimated at 0.133 and 0.130 mg Se/kg, respectively, through the derivative of the fitted polynomial quadratic models BW(SY) = − 501.8 × 2 + 133.2x + 500.5, r2 = 0.08, and ADG(SY) = − 48.4899 × 2 + 12.6437x + 32.0393, r2 = 0.08
Summary
Selenium (Se) has been recognized as an essential micronutrient for most forms of life. Organic trace mineral utilization in practical broiler feeds has been defended due to its higher bioavailability. In such feeds, trace minerals are provided simultaneously in the same supplement as inorganic salts or organic chelates, a fact commonly ignored in assays conducted to validate organic trace mineral sources. The current assay aimed to investigate growth and biochemical responses, as well as Se retention of growing chicks fed diets supplemented with organic and inorganic Se levels and where the trace minerals (zinc, copper, manganese, and iron) were provided as organic chelates or inorganic salts according to Se source assessed. Because Se present in the selenium yeast is in an organic structure, it is considered less toxic, more digestible, retained and bioavailable than the SS [2, 4, 19, 25, 26]
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