Comparative assessment of sodium selenite, selenised yeast and nanosized elemental selenium on performance response, immunity and antioxidative function of broiler chickens

Figures & data

Figure 1. Size characterisation of selenium nanoparticles by (A) dynamic light scattering and (B) transmission electron microscopy.

Table 1. Ingredients and calculated composition of the basal diets.

Item (%, unless noted)	Starter	Grower	Finisher
	(0–10 days)	(11–24 days)	(25–42 days)
Ingredients
Corn	54.75	57.61	63.79
Soya bean meal (crude protein, 45%)	38.07	35.89	30.24
Soya bean oil	2.01	2.22	1.90
Dicalcium phosphate	2.34	2.04	1.89
Calcium carbonate	1.22	1.00	0.99
Common salt	0.29	0.29	0.30
DL-methionine	0.41	0.30	0.26
L-lysine-HCL	0.31	0.13	0.12
L-threonine	0.10	0.02	0.01
Mineral–vitamin premix^a	0.50	0.50	0.50
Calculated composition
Metabolisable energy, kcal/kg	2900	2950	3000
Crude protein	22.00	21.00	19.00
Methionine	0.73	0.62	0.55
Methionine + cysteine	1.07	0.95	0.86
Lysine	1.43	1.24	1.09
Threonine	0.94	0.83	0.74
Calcium	1.05	0.90	0.85
Available phosphorus	0.50	0.45	0.42

^aMineral–vitamin premix provided the following per kilogram of diet: vitamin A, 9,000 IU; vitamin D₃, 2,100 IU; vitamin E, 30 mg; vitamin K₃, 5 mg; nicotinic acid, 30 mg; vitamin B₁₂, 0.12 mg; calcium pantothenate, 10 mg; thiamine, 1.1 mg; riboflavin, 4.5 mg; vitamin B₆, 2.0 mg; folic acid, 0.5 mg; biotin, 0.5 mg; Fe, 50 mg; Cu, 10 mg; Mn, 70 mg; Zn, 50 mg; Co, 0.2 mg; I, 1.0 mg.

Table 2. Analysed Se contents in starter, grower and finisher diets.

Items		Analysed Se level, mg/kg
Se source	Added Se level	Starter	Grower	Finisher
	(mg/kg)	(0–10 days)	(11–24 days)	(25–42 days)
Control	0	0.062	0.058	0.056
SS	0.1	0.158	0.154	0.156
	0.2	0.259	0.252	0.257
	0.5	0.550	0.555	0.556
SY	0.1	0.157	0.158	0.154
	0.2	0.258	0.254	0.257
	0.5	0.563	0.559	0.562
SN	0.1	0.155	0.154	0.158
	0.2	0.251	0.251	0.248
	0.5	0.552	0.554	0.557

SS: sodium selenite; SY: selenised yeast; SN: nanoelemental Se; values are based on triplicate determinations and presented as means (as-fed basis).

Table 3. Effects of dietary treatments on feed intake (FI) in broilers at different periods of experiment.

Items	Added Se level, mg/kg	FI, g
		0–10 days	11–24 days	25–42 days	0–42 days
Control	0	266	1060	2851	4177
SS	0.1	269	1101	3008	4378
	0.2	274*	1140*	3092*	4506*
	0.5	283*	1158*	3141*	4582*
SY	0.1	275*	1139*	3095*	4509*
	0.2	281*	1158*	3140*	4579*
	0.5	286*	1157*	3154*	4597*
SN	0.1	273*	1143*	3102*	4518*
	0.2	284*	1158*	3148*	4590*
	0.5	287*	1162*	3158*	4607*
Main effects
Se source
SS		275	1133^b	3180	4489
SY		281	1151^a	3130	4562
SN		281	1154^a	3136	4572
Added Se level
0.1		272^b	1128^b	3068	4468^b
0.2		280^ab	1152^a	3127	4558^a
0.5		285^a	1159^a	3151	4595^a
Pooled SEM		1.7	6.5	18.7	24.4
p Values
Control vs. Se		.021	<.001	<.001	<.001
Se source		.235	.028	.262	.106
Se level		.007	.014	.083	.013
Se source × Se level		.945	.627	.912	.781
Polynomial contrasts
SS		L	L	L	L
SY		L	L, Q	L, Q	L, Q
SN		L	L, Q	L, Q	L, Q

^a,bMeans within a column with different lowercase letters are different (Tukey’s test; p < .05); *p < .05; difference from control by Dunnett’s test; SS: sodium selenite; SY: selenised yeast; SN: nanoelemental Se; SEM: standard error of the mean; L: linear response (p < .05); Q: quadratic response (p < .05).

Table 4. Effects of dietary treatments on body weight gain (BWG) in broilers at different periods of experiment.

Items	Added Se level, mg/kg	BWG, g
		0–10 days	11–24 days	25–42 days	0–42 days
Control	0	208	721	1364	2293
SS	0.1	231*	752^c*	1465*	2448*
	0.2	235*	775^b*	1509*	2519*
	0.5	237*	800^a*	1550*	2587*
SY	0.1	237*	773^b*	1508*	2518*
	0.2	245*	805^a*	1536*	2586*
	0.5	244*	810^a*	1540*	2594*
SN	0.1	235*	775^b*	1509*	2519*
	0.2	246*	811^a*	1546*	2603*
	0.5	245*	808^a*	1548*	2601*
Main effects
Se source
SS		234^b	776^b	1508^b	2518^b
SY		242^a	796^a	1528^a	2566^a
SN		242^a	798^a	1534^a	2574^a
Added Se level
0.1		234^b	767^b	1494^b	2495^c
0.2		242^a	797^a	1530^a	2569^b
0.5		242^a	806^a	1546^a	2594^a
Pooled SEM		1.8	4.9	8.2	14.2
p Values
Control vs. Se		<.001	<.001	<.001	<.001
Se source		<.001	<.001	.002	<.001
Se level		<.001	<.001	<.001	<.001
Se source × Se level		.478	.215	.156	.126
Polynomial contrasts
SS		L, Q	L, Q	L, Q	L, Q
SY		L, Q	L, Q	L, Q	L, Q
SN		L, Q	L, Q	L, Q	L, Q

^a–cMeans within a column with different lowercase letters are different (Tukey’s test; p < .05); *p < .05; difference from control by Dunnett’s test; SS: sodium selenite; SY: selenised yeast; SN: nanoelemental Se; SEM: standard error of the mean; L: linear response (p < .05); Q: quadratic response (p < .05).

Table 5. Effects of dietary treatments on feed conversion ratio (FCR) and survival rate in broilers at different periods of experiment.

Items	Added Se level, mg/kg	FCR (g/g)				Survival rate, %
		0–10 days	11–24 days	25–42 days	0–42 days	1–42 days
Control	0	1.28	1.47	2.09	1.82	88.9
SS	0.1	1.16*	1.46	2.05	1.79	97.2*
	0.2	1.17*	1.47	2.05	1.79	95.6*
	0.5	1.19*	1.45	2.03	1.77	96.7*
SY	0.1	1.16*	1.47	2.05	1.79	99.4*
	0.2	1.15*	1.44	2.04	1.77	96.7*
	0.5	1.17*	1.43	2.05	1.77	96.7*
SN	0.1	1.16*	1.47	2.06	1.79	96.1*
	0.2	1.15*	1.43	2.04	1.76	95.6*
	0.5	1.17*	1.44	2.04	1.77	97.2*
Main effects
Se source
SS		1.17	1.46	2.04	1.78	96.5
SY		1.16	1.45	2.05	1.78	97.6
SN		1.16	1.45	2.04	1.78	96.3
Added Se level
0.1		1.16	1.47	2.05	1.79	97.6
0.2		1.16	1.45	2.04	1.77	95.9
0.5		1.18	1.44	2.04	1.77	96.9
Pooled SEM		0.008	0.007	0.007	0.005	1.01
p values
Control vs. Se		.001	.739	.996	.636	.028
Se source		.642	.523	.991	.762	.885
Se level		.400	.121	.618	.166	.852
Se source × Se level		.951	.709	.975	.823	.988
Polynomial contrasts
SS		L, Q	NS	NS	NS	NS
SY		L, Q	NS	NS	NS	NS
SN		L, Q	NS	NS	NS	NS

*p < .05; difference from control by Dunnett’s test; SS: sodium selenite; SY: selenised yeast; SN: nanoelemental Se; SEM: standard error of the mean; L: linear response (p < .05); Q: quadratic response (p < .05); NS: no significant L or Q response.

Table 6. Effects of dietary treatments on relative carcase part weights in broiler chickens at 42 days of age.

Items	Added Se level, mg/kg	Organ weight (% of live body weight)
		Carcase	Breast	Thigh	Abdominal fat	Liver	Heart
Control	0	72.6	19.1	17.7	1.96	2.64	0.58
SS	0.1	71.5	19.1^b	17.4	1.51*	2.23*	0.62
	0.2	73.0	19.1^b	18.2	1.26*	1.86*	0.59
	0.5	72.7	20.1^b	18.0	1.14*	1.61*	0.63
SY	0.1	71.5	19.5^b	18.2	1.33*	2.21*	0.58
	0.2	71.4	23.7^a*	18.0	1.03*	1.92*	0.61
	0.5	71.4	24.0^a*	17.3	0.94*	1.66*	0.62
SN	0.1	71.1	19.2^b	18.0	1.39*	2.27*	0.60
	0.2	72.4	24.0^a*	18.2	1.00*	1.94*	0.62
	0.5	70.2	23.9^a*	18.2	0.96*	1.68*	0.61
Main effects
Se source
SS		72.4	19.4^b	17.9	1.30^a	1.91	0.61
SY		71.4	22.4^a	17.9	1.10^b	1.93	0.60
SN		71.3	22.4^a	18.1	1.12^b	1.91	0.61
Added Se level
0.1		71.4	19.3^b	17.9	1.40^a	2.24^a	0.60
0.2		72.3	22.3^a	18.1	1.10^b	1.91^b	0.61
0.5		71.4	22.7^a	17.9	1.00^b	1.65^c	0.62
Pooled SEM		0.27	0.29	0.13	0.058	0.043	0.008
p values
Control vs. Se		.172	<.001	.954	<.001	<.001	.926
Se source		.124	<.001	.812	.022	.563	.896
Se level		.196	<.001	.816	<.001	<.001	.730
Se source × Se level		.284	<.001	.736	.965	.971	.822
Polynomial contrasts
SS		NS	NS	NS	L, Q	L	NS
SY		NS	L	NS	L, Q	L	NS
SN		NS	L	NS	L, Q	L	NS

^a–cMeans within a column with different lowercase letters are different (Tukey’s test; p < .05); *p < .05, difference from control by Dunnett’s test; SS, sodium selenite; SY: selenised yeast; SN: nanoelemental Se; SEM: standard error of the mean; L: linear response (p < .05); Q: quadratic response (p < .05); NS: no significant L or Q response.

Table 7. Effects of dietary treatments on relative immune organ weights in broilers at 42 days of age.

Items	Added Se level, mg/kg	Organ weight (% of live body weight)
		Bursa	Spleen	Thymus
Control	0	0.17	0.07	0.18
SS	0.1	0.16	0.10*	0.21
	0.2	0.17	0.09*	0.23*
	0.5	0.17	0.11*	0.24*
SY	0.1	0.18	0.10*	0.24*
	0.2	0.17	0.10*	0.26*
	0.5	0.18	0.09*	0.26*
SN	0.1	0.17	0.10*	0.23*
	0.2	0.17	0.11*	0.26*
	0.5	0.17	0.10*	0.29*
Main effects
Se source
SS		0.17	0.10	0.23^b
SY		0.17	0.10	0.26^a
SN		0.18	0.10	0.26^a
Added Se level
0.1		0.17	0.10	0.23^c
0.2		0.17	0.10	0.25^b
0.5		0.17	0.10	0.27^a
Pooled SEM		0.002	0.002	0.004
p Values
Control vs. Se		.982	.025	.001
Se source		.563	.556	.002
Se level		.822	.850	.001
Se source × Se level		.995	.650	.607
Polynomial contrasts
SS		NS	L, Q	L, Q
SY		NS	L, Q	L, Q
SN		NS	L, Q	L, Q

^a–cMeans within a column with different lowercase letters are different (Tukey’s test; p < .05); *p < .05, difference from control by Dunnett’s test; SS: sodium selenite; SY: selenised yeast; SN: nanoelemental Se; SEM: standard error of the mean; L: linear response (P < .05); Q: quadratic response (p < .05); NS: no significant L or Q response.

Table 8. Effects of dietary treatments on antibody titres against avian influenza virus (AIV), Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and sheep red blood cell (SRBC) in broilers at 32 and 42 days of age.

Items	Added Se level, mg/kg	Antibody titres (log2)
		AIV			NDV			SRBC
		PC	32 days	42 days	PC	32 days	42 days	PC	32 days	42 days
Control	0	0	3.10	3.06	1.41	5.66	4.11	0	5.76	5.26
SS	0.1	0	4.53*	3.70*	1.39	5.69	4.11	0	7.45*	6.33*
	0.2	0	4.97*	3.97*	1.56	5.25	4.21	0	8.31*	6.55*
	0.5	0	5.29*	4.20*	1.31	5.71	4.29	0	8.68*	6.71*
SY	0.1	0	5.05*	4.03*	1.44	5.70	4.15	0	8.11*	6.94*
	0.2	0	5.37*	4.29*	1.37	5.76	4.21	0	8.60*	7.12*
	0.5	0	5.60*	4.71*	1.29	5.55	4.45	0	9.51*	7.35*
SN	0.1	0	4.89*	4.01*	1.42	5.67	4.16	0	8.74*	7.25*
	0.2	0	5.35*	4.34*	1.48	5.26	4.31	0	8.90*	7.60*
	0.5	0	5.60*	4.86*	1.66	5.46	4.31	0	10.02*	7.99*
Main effects
Se source
SS		0	4.91^b	3.96^b	1.42	5.56	4.20	0	8.15^c	6.52^c
SY		0	5.34^a	4.34^a	1.37	5.67	4.27	0	8.71^b	7.13^b
SN		0	5.27^a	4.40^a	1.52	5.47	4.26	0	9.24^a	7.61^a
Added Se level
0.1		0	4.84^c	3.91^c	1.42	5.69	4.14	0	8.07^c	6.84^c
0.2		0	5.27^b	4.20^b	1.47	5.44	4.24	0	8.60^b	7.09^b
0.5		0	5.51^a	4.60^a	1.42	5.57	4.35	0	9.40^a	7.38^a
Pooled SEM		–	0.087	0.064	0.012	0.074	0.108	–	0.147	0.089
p values
Control vs. Se		–	<.001	<.001	.378	.625	.999	–	<.001	<.001
Se source		–	<.001	<.001	.431	.289	.966	–	.002	<.001
Se level		–	<.001	<.001	.762	.179	.763	–	<.001	<.001
Se source × Se level		–	.408	.152	.961	.314	.997	–	.590	.167
Polynomial contrasts
SS		–	L, Q	L, Q	NS	NS	NS	–	L, Q	L, Q
SY		–	L, Q	L, Q	NS	NS	NS	–	L, Q	L, Q
SN		–	L, Q	L	NS	NS	NS	–	L, Q	L, Q

^a–cMeans within a column with different lowercase letters are different (Tukey’s test; p < .05); *p < .05, difference from control by Dunnett’s test; PC: prechallenge; SS: sodium selenite; SY: selenised yeast; SN: nanoelemental Se; SEM: standard error of the mean; L: linear response (p < .05); Q: quadratic response (p < .05); NS: no significant L or Q response.

Table 9. Effects of dietary treatments on serum Se concentration and antioxidative status in broiler chickens at 32 and 42 days of age.

Items	Added Se level, mg/kg	Se, mg/L		GPx, unit/mL		TrxR, unit/mL		TAC, mmol/L
		32 days	42 days	32 days	42 days	32 days	42 days	32 days	42 days
Control	0	0.01	0.04	149	110	1.95	2.32	0.63	0.48
SS	0.1	0.05*	0.09*	185*	179*	2.07*	2.74*	0.73*	0.63*
	0.2	0.09*	0.15*	190*	178*	2.31*	3.01*	0.79*	0.67*
	0.5	0.13*	0.21*	193*	180*	2.54*	3.38*	0.85*	0.74*
SY	0.1	0.09*	0.13*	187*	171*	2.36*	2.95*	0.80*	0.66*
	0.2	0.13*	0.21*	187*	179*	2.50*	3.41*	0.92*	0.75*
	0.5	0.18*	0.30*	191*	178*	3.01*	3.99*	1.00*	0.79*
SN	0.1	0.08*	0.14*	193*	176*	2.32*	2.97*	0.81*	0.67*
	0.2	0.14*	0.24*	189*	179*	2.51*	3.50*	0.93*	0.79*
	0.5	0.18*	0.32*	190*	182*	2.98*	4.01*	1.01*	0.81*
Main effects
Se source
SS		0.09^b	0.15^b	189	179	2.31^b	3.04^b	0.79^b	0.68^b
SY		0.13^a	0.21^a	188	176	2.62^a	3.45^a	0.91^a	0.74^a
SN		0.13^a	0.23^a	191	179	2.60^a	3.49^a	0.91^a	0.76^a
Added Se level
0.1		0.07^c	0.12^c	188	175	2.25^c	2.89^c	0.78^c	0.65^c
0.2		0.12^b	0.20^b	189	179	2.44^b	3.31^b	0.87^b	0.73^b
0.5		0.16^a	0.28^a	191	180	2.84^a	3.79^a	0.95^a	0.78^a
Pooled SEM		0.009	0.014	1.7	2.4	0.004	0.013	0.016	0.015
p Values
Control vs. Se		<.001	<.001	<.001	<.001	<.001	<.001	<.001	<.001
Se source		<.001	<.001	.525	.765	<.001	<.001	<.001	<.001
Se level		<.001	<.001	.789	.679	<.001	<.001	<.001	<.001
Se source × Se level		.141	.108	.999	.872	.223	.363	.414	.397
Polynomial contrasts
SS		L, Q	L, Q	L, Q	L, Q	L	L	L, Q	L, Q
SY		L, Q	L, Q	L, Q	L, Q	L	L	L, Q	L, Q
SN		L, Q	L, Q	L, Q	L, Q	L	L	L, Q	L, Q

^a–cMeans within a column with different lowercase letters are different (Tukey’s test; p < .05); *p < .01, difference from control by Dunnett’s test; SS: sodium selenite; SY: selenised yeast; SN: nanoelemental Se; GPx: glutathione peroxidase; TrxR: thioredoxin reductase; TAC: total antioxidant capacity; MDA: malondialdehyde; SEM: standard error of the mean; L: linear response (p < .05); Q: quadratic response (p < .05).