Influence of selenium and vitamin E supplementation in a fish oil-based diet on broiler performance, visceral organs, meat fatty acid composition, and antioxidant deposition

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of selenium (Se) from selenomethionine and vitamin E (VE) from α-tocopherol acetate supplementation in a fish oil-based diet on broiler performance, visceral organs, fatty acids, VE, and Se in meat. A total of 200 one-day-old Cobb broiler chickens were reared for 35 days using a completely randomised design with 4 treatments and 5 replicates. The treatments were T0: control diet containing 3% fish oil; T1: T0 + Se (0.3 ppm) + VE (200 ppm); T2: T0 + Se (0.6 ppm) + VE (300 ppm); T3: T0 + Se (0.9 ppm) + VE (400 ppm). The treatments did not affect broiler performance (P>0.05). Compared to the T0, the T3 group improved Se and VE levels in meat by 105.4% and 83.2%, respectively, and had a lower colon length than the T0 and T1 groups (P<0.05). The T2 group increased total monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and omega-6 compared to the T0 and T1 groups (P<0.05). It was concluded that the inclusion of 400 ppm VE and 0.9 ppm Se in a diet rich in fatty acids effectively enhanced the deposition of Se, VE, and omega-3 in the meat as well as reduced colon length without adverse effect on the production performance of broiler chickens. The combination of 300 ppm VE and 0.6 ppm Se was the optimal dose for increasing the deposition of MUFAs, PUFAs, and omega-6 in the meat.