Selenium Accumulation in Beef:  Effect of Dietary Selenium and Geographical Area of Animal Origin

Abstract

Selenium (Se) is an essential nutrient with multiple human health benefits; the single most important dietary source of Se is beef. The Se content of beef varies, and cattle fed a high selenium diet may have Se concentrations in beef that are well above average. Such beef is potentially a unique supplemental source of dietary Se. To examine factors affecting Se accumulation in beef, 16 steers (initial wt 374.4 +/- 33.7 kg) were taken from seleniferous or nonseleniferous areas and fed in a 2 x 2 factorial design with diets high or moderate in Se (11.9 or 0.62 mg Se/kg diet). Diets contained 50% alfalfa, 25% wheat, and 25% corn on a dry matter basis. All dietary Se was from agricultural products, and Se in the high Se diet was primarily from high Se wheat and alfalfa hay. A loin muscle biopsy was taken at the start of the trial to determine initial Se content of beef. Steers were slaughtered after 14 weeks of the trial, and edible carcass (round, sirloin, shoulder clod, and ribeye) and organ samples were collected. Diets did not affect growth or feed intake (P > 0.05), and Se toxicity signs were not observed. Different cuts of meat had similar Se concentrations, and the Se content of all cuts was increased by both high dietary Se and high Se background. Except for liver and kidney, Se in tissues was increased by seleniferous background (P < 0.02) and high dietary Se (P < 0.001). Kidney Se concentrations of animals fed the high Se diet were lowest in animals from seleniferous areas (P = 0.04), suggesting a possible adaptation to the high Se diet. These results demonstrate that cattle fed diets high in Se from agricultural products will accumulate substantial amounts of Se in the beef without developing signs of Se toxicity and that prior Se status regulates Se accumulation in some organs. They further demonstrate that management practices may be altered so as to make beef a significant source of dietary Se.

Effects of Spent Composts of Se-Enriched Mushrooms on Carcass Characteristics, Plasma GSH-Px Activity, and Se Deposition in Finishing Hanwoo Steers

“…Hintze et al (2002) showed the similar results to ours, suggesting the limitation of Se accumulation in the muscle of beef steers. They further indicated that the transfer of dietary Se to muscle was inefficient as maximum of 2.6%.…”

“…Even though it has been known to be toxic in dietary Se level from 5 to 20 ppm in swine, resulting in decreased ADG and feed intake (Kim and Mahan, 2001), toxic level of dietary Se for cattle has not been well defined. Hintze et al (2002) reported that a ration containing more than 10 ppm of Se for beef steers did not influence feed intake and showed no any toxic symptoms. One can assume that ruminants might be more tolerable for Se toxicity than monogastrics.…”

“…Increased Se levels by the organic Se (Se-yeast) in the above study were similar to those of our results. Thus, one could postulate that Se present in Se-SMC was excellent in the 3) Meat color 4) Fat color 5) Yield grade 6) Quality grade 7) 59. 2001) also demonstrated that inorganic Se added to mushroom compost was, after mushroom cultivation, converted to organic Se in edible mushrooms to some extent and their predominate form of Se was mostly selenocystine.…”

Meat composition and quality of young growing Belgian Blue bulls offered a fattening diet with selenium enriched cereals

“…The kidneys also presented the greatest Se content in other studies, with zebu (Dermauw et al 2014), pigs (Daun and Å kesson 2004) and lambs (Juniper et al 2009). However, Hintze et al (2002), who found the greatest Se concentration in the liver, reported slightly different findings. The kidney is the main site of plasma glutathione peroxidase synthesis and has the greatest Se content per unit of weight (Ducros and Favier 2004).…”

Serum micronutrient concentrations in beef cows before and after the summer grazing season

“…Although geographic differences in the Cu and Se status of beef cattle have been reported Campbell et al 1995;Hintze et al 2002), the effects of differences in water quality and meteorological conditions between grazing pastures have not been examined in western Canada. Sulphate is a frequent contaminant of livestock water sources in the Canadian prairies and north-central regions of the United States.…”