Influence of Dietary Selenium on Tissue Selenium Levels in Turkeys

To study the influence of dietary supplements of selenium on tissue selenium levels, duplicate groups of 20 Broad Breasted White turkeys were fed practical diets alone or supplemented with 0.1 and 0.2 p.p.m. Se as Na2SeO3. The concentration of naturally occurring selenium in the basal starting and finishing rations was 0.20 and 0.13 p.p.m. respectively. Selenium analyses were performed on samples of blood, liver, breast muscle and leg muscle obtained at 14 and 20 weeks of age. Supplemental selenium did not change the level of selenium in any of the tissues studied, nor did it affect weight gains. The concentration of selenium in blood and muscle was approximately 0.2 p.p.m. and ranged from 0.6 to 0.7 p.p.m. in liver. The results indicate that supplementing diets containing marginal levels of Se with 0.2 p.p.m. Se as Na2SeO3 does not lead to accumulation of Se in the tissues.