The effects of inorganic and organic selenium sources on growth performance, carcass traits, tissue mineral concentrations, and enzyme activity in poultry

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to compare dietary inorganic and organic Se sources in poultry. An experiment was conducted to assess daily egg production and Se deposition in eggs of hens fed diets supplemented with inorganic or organic Se. The results from this experiment indicated that hen production was not affected by Se source, and organic Se increased egg Se concentrations more than inorganic Se. Two experiments then were conducted with broilers to compare dietary organic and inorganic Se on growth performance, carcass traits, breast and plasma Se concentrations, and plasma glutathione peroxidase activity. The results from these experiments indicate that organic Se increases tissue Se concentration more than inorganic Se, but plasma glutathione peroxidase activity, growth performance, and carcass traits were not affected by source. Finally, three experiments were conducted to develop a Se-deficient diet, and then to compare plasma glutathione peroxidase and plasma and tissue Se concentrations in broilers fed a Se-deficient diet after they had been fed diets supplemented with either inorganic or organic Se. The results from these experiments indicate that organic Se increases tissue Se concentration compared with inorganic Se, but plasma glutathione peroxidase activity and growth performance were not affected by source. However, when broilers were placed on the Se deficient diet, organic Se maintained plasma glutathione peroxidase activity longer and at a higher level than inorganic Se. Overall, the results from these experiments indicate that dietary inorganic and organic Se result in similar growth performance and plasma glutathione peroxidase activity in broilers and layers, but organic Se increases tissue and egg Se concentrations more than inorganic Se.