Availability of Selenium in Fish Meal in Comparison with Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal and Selenomethionine Relative to Selenium in Sodiumselenite for Restoring Glutathione Peroxidase Activity in Selenium-Depleted Chicks

We assayed the availability of selenium in feeds and selenomethionine relative to selenium in sodium selenite for restoring blood serum glutathione peroxidase activity in selenium-depleted chicks. The contents of total selenium (determined by neutron activation analyses) were for eight samples of capelin fish meal, 1.34, two samples of mackerel fish meal, 6.17, one sample of solvent-extracted soybean meal, 0.42, and one sample of corn gluten meal, 0.54 ppm in dry matter. The availability of the selenium (relative to selenium in selenite=100%) in capelin fish meal was 48.0 (38.5–60.0), mackerel fish meal, 34.1 (32.3–35.8), soybean meal, 17.5, corn gluten meal, 25.7, and in selenomethionine, 78.3%.