Comparative effects of dietary organic, inorganic, and Nano-selenium complexes and rosemary essential oil on performance, meat quality and selenium deposition in muscles of broiler chickens

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of dietary Se sources and rosemary essential oil (REO) on performance, meat quality, several blood biochemical and immune parameters and Se deposition in liver and muscles of broiler chickens. 600 one-day-old male broilers were used in a 2 x 5 factorial arrangement with two levels of REO (0 and 300 mg/kg of diet) and five sources of Se [without, and 0.3 mg/kg of Se in diet as sodium selenite, or selenomethionine (Se-Met), or Nano-selenomethionine (Nano-Se-Met) or Nano-Se-Max with ten treatments, each with five replicates. During d 0 to 42, the weight gain of birds fed diets containing REO + Nano-Se-Met or only with Nano-Se-Met were higher than that of birds fed diets without REO and Se or diets without REO but with Se-Met. Birds fed diets containing REO + Nano-Se-Max had the best feed conversion ratio. Dietary REO resulted in a decrease in abdominal fat percentage and an increase in the length of the jejunum (P < 0.05). Dietary Nano-Se-Met supplementation with or without REO appeared to induce an improved immune system response (P < 0.05). After d 12 of storage in the refrigerator, the combination of REO + Se-Met, or REO + Nano-Se-Met, or Nano-Se-Met, Nano-Se-Max supplementations improved thigh meat quality (P < 0.05). Also, REO + Nano-Se-Met, or REO + sodium selenite, or Se-Met supplementations improved breast meat quality (P < 0.05). Diets without REO and Se increased pH value after the slaughter in the thigh meat (P < 0.05). The highest liver and breast muscles Se concentration was observed in birds fed diets supplemented with Nano-Se-Met (P < 0.05). Taken together, our data indicated that the concomitant addition of Se as Nano-Se and of REO in the diet of broilers improves feed conversion ratio, lipid oxidation values of meat, immune response system and concentration of Se in liver and breast muscles of broiler.