Effect of dietary selenium sources on growth performance, breast muscle selenium, glutathione peroxidase activity and oxidative stability in broilers

This study examined the effects of supplementation of dietary sodium selenite and sodium enriched alga Chlorella on growth performance, Se concentration in breast meat and excreta, activity of glutathione peroxidase in meat, and oxidative stability of meat in broilers. Sexed broiler cockerels Ross 308 were allotted to 3 dietary treatments, each comprising 100 chickens. The basal diet was supplemented with 0 (control) or 0.3 mg/kg Se from sodium selenite (SS) or Se-Chlorella (SCH). Dietary supplementation with SCH increased (P less than 0.05) body weight. The breast muscle Se concentration was increased (P less than 0.05) by SCH (0.70 mg/kg DM; 0.36 mg/kg DM in control) supplementation, but not by SS (0.49 mg/kg DM) supplementation. The concentration of Se in excreta was highest in the SS group. The activity of GSH-Px in breast meat was significant in all treatments (0.16 U/g in control, 0.30 U/g in SS and 0.23 U/g in SCH group). The inclusion of SCH in the diet enhanced the oxidative stability of meat expressed as reduced malondialdehyde values in breast meat after 0; 3 and 5 days storage at 3-5 deg C.