Effects of dietary nano-selenium supplementation on broiler chicken performance, meat selenium content, intestinal microflora, intestinal morphology, and immune response

Abstract

Background: Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient that is important to both animals and humans. Furthermore, scientists are increasingly interested in boosting the Se content of food products for human consumption, such as Se-enriched meat, because it has been shown to have a positive effect on human health. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of green synthesized nano selenium (GNS) on broiler chicken growth performance, meat selenium content, intestinal microflora, intestinal morphology, and immune response to sodium selenite (SS) as inorganic Se.

Methods: A total of 360 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were randomly assigned to four experimental groups, each of six replicates of 15 birds. The experimental treatments were as follows: (1) based diet supplemented with 0.15 mg/kg of SS (control group), (2-4) basal diet supplemented with 0.075, 0.15 and 0.3 mg/kg of GNS respectively.

Results: The results showed that different experimental diets had no significant effect on growth performance. Meat Se content increased with dietary GNS supplementation (P < 0.05). The birds fed dietary supplements GNS compared to SS had higher lactic acid bacteria counts and lactic acid bacteria/coliform ratios in ileum on day 42 (P < 0.05). Furthermore, as compared to SS, dietary supplementation of 0.3 mg GNS/kg significantly reduced coliform numbers in the cecum on day 42 (P < 0.05). Supplementation of 0.3 mg GNS/kg in the diet vs. SS at 21 days, there was a significant increase in VH/CD in the ileum and jejunum, as well as villus height and villus surface area in the ileum, and a decrease in crypt depth and epithelial cell layer thickness in the jejunum. Furthermore, at 42 days, birds fed 0.3 mg GNS/kg had higher villus height, villus surface area, and goblet cell density in the ileum and jejunum than birds fed SS (P < 0.05). Compared to SS, broilers fed 0.3 mg GNS/kg dietary supplementation had higher IgG at 42 days (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: In comparison to the use of SS, it could be concluded that the inclusion of GNS as a novel Se source can improve meat Se content, intestinal microflora, intestinal morphology, and immune response.

Keywords: Broilers; Green nano selenium; Intestine; Nanoparticles; Sodium selenite.