Effects of Dietary Selenium Sources on Physiological Status of Laying Hens and Production of Selenium-Enriched Eggs

Abstract

Developing new sources of organic selenium (Se) has potential benefits for animal production and human nutrition via animal-based foods enriched with Se. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Se-enriched insect protein (SEIP) in comparison with other sources, such as sodium selenite (SS) and selenium-enriched yeast (SEY), on performance, egg quality, selenium concentration in eggs, serum biochemical indices, immune capacity, and intestinal morphology of laying hens. Four hundred and fifty 24-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens with 94.0 ± 1.5% laying rate were randomly allocated to five groups with six replicates of 15 hens each. The control diet was prepared without adding exogenous selenium (calculated basal Se content of 0.08 mg/kg). The normal group was fed basal diets supplemented with 0.3 mg/kg of Se provided by sodium selenite. Three treatment groups (SS, SEY, and SEIP, respectively) were fed basal diets supplemented with 2 mg/kg of Se provided by sodium selenite, Se-enriched yeast, and SEIP, respectively. The feeding trial lasted for 12 weeks. Results revealed that dietary supplementation of 2 mg/kg of Se increased egg weight, decreased feed conversion ratio, and enhanced the antioxidant capacity of eggs in laying hens relative to the control group, whereas no significant differences were observed among SS, SEY, and SEIP treatment groups for the same. The organic source of Se provided by SEY or SEIP showed higher bio efficiency, as indicated by higher selenium content in eggs of SEY and SEIP compared with SS, although higher content was observed in SEY compared with SEIP. Also, the organic Se source significantly improved antioxidant capacity and immune functions of laying hens than the inorganic Se source. Diets supplemented with SEIP and SS significantly improved jejunal morphology of the laying hens compared with SEY, whereas SEIP was more effective than SEY to improve the oviduct health of laying hens. The results of this work evidently points the additive effect and nontoxicity of SEIP. Thus, SEIP could be used as another organic source of Se in the diet of laying hens and production of selenium-enriched eggs for humans.

Dregs of Cardamine hupingshanensis as a feed additive to improve the egg quality

“…Therefore, in this study, the performance improvement of laying hens benefits from the application of DCH, realizing the reuse of waste and reducing the production cost (Figure 3 ). Consistent with other studies, adding selenium to the layer diet can improve product performance and egg quality including yolk ratio, shell ratio, egg shape, shell thickness, yolk color, and so on ( 45 , 46 ), indicating that the DCH has the potential to use as a good feed additive to promote the growth and development of economic animals as well as improve economic benefits. This study of DCH provides an alternative strategy to improve egg quality and the development of novel feed additives.…”

Trace Minerals in Laying Hen Diets and Their Effects on Egg Quality

“…Selenium revealed strong biological and nutritional influences in inducing physiology and production of poultry [6,7] that were primarily mediated by the activity of selenoproteins [55,93]. The dietary requirement of selenium for laying hens is comparatively low, at approximately 0.3 mg/kg [79]. Excess Se intake is toxic [101], and its inorganic form has limited biological availability, consequently its inclusion by high doses limits its utilization in poultry nutrition [120], as well as its emission to the environment is higher than the organic form [117].…”

Natural Products of Plants and Animal Origin Improve Albumen Quality of Chicken Eggs

“…Selenium is a trace element necessary for animal and human health. Selenium have been reported to enhance reproductive performance, antioxidant and immunomodulatory function in laying hens (144,145). In same vein, biofortification of eggs with selenium, evidenced by high content of selenium in albumen have been explored (145)(146)(147)(148)(149).…”

“…Selenium have been reported to enhance reproductive performance, antioxidant and immunomodulatory function in laying hens (144,145). In same vein, biofortification of eggs with selenium, evidenced by high content of selenium in albumen have been explored (145)(146)(147)(148)(149). Other evidences showed that (Seenriched insect protein) (150) and selenium enriched yeast (148,151), enhanced albumen height and HU.…”