Effects of Selenium and Methionine Supplementation of Breeder Hen Diets on Selenium Concentration and Oxidative Stability of Lipids in the Thigh Muscles of Progeny

The effects of dietary supplementation to female chickens with selenium (Se) and methionine (Met) on the next generation were studied. Lang-shan breeding hens (450) were obtained at 52 wk of age and randomly allotted to 9 treatments; 5 replicates of each treatment were carried out. The breeders were fed a basal corn-soybean meal diet (0.13 mg Se/kg) supplemented with 0, 0.30, or 0.60 mg/kg Se from Sel-Plex and 0.32%, 0.40%, or 0.54% Met for the 30-d adapting period and 70-d experiment period. Se and glutathione (GSH) concentrations, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, and the oxidative stability of muscular lipids of 90-d progeny were determined by testing the TBARS values. When breeders received the highest levels of Met or Se, GSH-Px activity was decreased, the Se concentration and the oxidative stability of muscular lipids were increased with the supplementation of Se or Met. When breeder hens were given a Met-deficient diet, supplementing with Se decreased the Se deposition in progeny thigh. With regard to lipid oxidation, 0.3 mg/kg maternal dietary Se supplementation decreased the oxidative stability of muscle lipid and 0.6 mg/kg Se supplementation showed no difference from the control. When breeders were fed a Se-deficient diet, the GSH-Px activity was increased significantly and the oxidative stability of progeny muscles was decreased with the supplementation of Met. It was concluded that supplementation of the maternal diet with higher Se and Met can increase Se deposition in progeny muscle and lead to more effective protection against lipid oxidation in progeny thighs.