The Effects of Organic Selenium supplementation on Immunity, Physico- biochemical properties of Spermatozoa, and Carcass traits in Male Turkeys

Abstract

Abstract The effects of dietary organic selenium (Se) on immunological function, the physical and biochemical properties of sperm, and fertility in male turkey birds were investigated in this study. The source of organic selenium used was seleno-methionine (Se-M). 160 male turkeys (16 weeks old; 3.2 kg on average weight) were chosen at random, and 20 groups of 8 chicks each were created (4 dietary treatments x 5 replicates). The four experimental diets (T1, T2, T3, and T4) were formulated with addition of 0, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.6 mg Se/kg diet, respectively. The birds were kept in individual cages under standard husbandry conditions for duration of 24 weeks, were fed a breeder's ration, and received ad libitum water. At 28 weeks, antibody tires (humoral immunity) were significantly (P≤0.05) increased, whereas the response to intradermally injected phyto-haemagglutinin (during week 29), an index of the in vivo cell-mediated immune response, was shown to be increased in the groups fed Se-M at 0.4 and 0.6 mg Se-M/kg diet (T3 and T4 group). In birds fed 0.6 mg Se-M/kg (T4), the bursa of Fabricius and the thymus had higher relative weights. Physical characteristics such as sperm volume, sperm concentration, sperm motility, and percentage live sperm were significantly higher (P≤0.05) in the T3 group, whereas the proportion of abnormal and dead spermatozoa was significantly lower (P≤0.05) and fertility was higher in the T3 (0.4 mg Se-M /kg). The amount of total protein and testosterone concentrations were significantly (P≤0.05) higher in the T3 group, but sperm creatinine, acid phosphatase (ACP), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) concentrations did not differ significantly (P≤0.05). However, thio-barbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) concentration were significantly (P≤0.05) higher in T3 group. Thus, it could be concluded that the basal diet with 0.4 mg/kg organic selenium (seleno-methionine) may be beneficial for physical and biochemical characteristics of semen, improved the immunity and fertility in adult male turkeys.