Tolerance of ruminant animals to high dose in-feed administration of a selenium enriched yeast

¹ Animal Science Research Group, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development University of Reading, Earley Gate, Reading RG6 6AR, U.K.
² ALLTECH France, EU Regulatory Affairs Department, 14 Place Marie-Jeanne Bassot, 92300 Levallois- Perret, France

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: d.t.juniper{at}reading.ac.uk.

	Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine if there were adverse effects on animal health and performance when a range of ruminant animals species were fed at least 10 times the maximum permitted European Union (EU) selenium (Se) dietary inclusion rate (0.568 mg Se/kg DM) in the form of Se-enriched yeast (SY) derived from a specific strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-3060. In a series of studies, dairy cows, beef cattle, calves, and lambs were offered either a control diet that contained no Se supplement or a treatment diet that contained the same basal feed ingredients plus a SY supplement which increased total dietary Se from 0.15 to 6.25, 0.20 to 6.74, 0.15 to 5.86, and 0.14 to 6.63 mg Se/kg DM, respectively. The inclusion of the SY supplement increased (P < 0.001) whole blood Se concentrations, reaching maximum mean values of 716, 1,505, 1,377, and 724 ng Se/mL for dairy cattle, beef cattle, calves, and lambs, respectively. Selenomethionine accounted for 10% of total whole blood Se in control animals, whereas the proportion in SY animals ranged between 40 and 75%. Glutathione peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.9) activity was higher (P < 0.05) in SY animals when compared with controls. A range of other biochemical and hematological parameters were assessed, but few differences of biological significance were established between treatments groups. There were no differences between treatment groups within each species with regard to animal physical performance or overall animal health. It was concluded that there were no adverse effects on animal health, performance, and voluntary feed intake to the administration of at least 10 times the EU maximum, or approximately 20 times the US FDA permitted concentration of dietary Se in the form of SY derived from a specific strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-3060.

Key Words: biochemistry, ruminants, selenium, selenomethi

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