Evaluation of a Dietary Organic Selenium Supplement at Different Dietary Protein Concentrations on Growth Performance, Body Composition and Antioxidative Status of Broilers Reared under Heat Stress

Three hundred chicks were randomly assigned among four treatments to evaluate the effect of an organic selenium supplement at various levels of dietary protein. Two levels of supplemental selenium (0 and 0.3 mg/kg) from zinc-L-selenomethionine were tested at two levels of dietary protein (normal and reduced) in a completely randomized design with $2{\times}2$ factorial layout. The experiment lasted up to 49 d of age during which all birds were exposed to $31{\pm}1^{\circ}C$. The effects of selenium or its interaction with CP on growth performance and carcass characteristics were not significant. However, feeding the reduced-CP diet decreased weight gain in the starting period and increased liver and abdominal fat weights relative to body weight. Ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) was not significantly affected by dietary CP and Se or their interaction though FRAP values were numerically higher in the Se-supplemented group. Dietary CP content did not affect the activity of plasma glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), though Se significantly elevated plasma GSHPx activity. The interaction of CP and Se was not significant for FRAP and plasma GSHPx activity.