Effects of Selenium and Cadmium on Breast Muscle Fatty-Acid Composition and Gene Expression of Liver Antioxidant Proteins in Broilers

Abstract

The present work was part of a project intended to evaluate whether organic selenium (Se) has the potential to protect against toxic effects exerted by cadmium (Cd). For this reason, 300 as-hatched, one-day-old broiler chickens were randomly allocated in four dietary treatments with five replicate pens per treatment. Chickens in T1 treatment, were offered a diet supplemented with 0.3 ppm Se (as Se-yeast), without added Cd; in T2 treatment, they were offered a diet with 0.3 ppm Se and 10 ppm Cd; in T3 treatment, they were offered a diet with 0.3 ppm Se and 100 ppm Cd; in T4 treatment, chickens were offered a diet supplemented with 3 ppm Se and 100 ppm Cd. Cadmium was added to the diets in T2, T3, and T4 as CdCl2. On the fourth and sixth weeks, liver and breast samples were obtained from two broilers per replicate pen. Relative gene expression levels of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and 2 (SOD2), methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MSRA) and B3 (MSRB3), iodothyronine deiodinase 1 (DIO1), 2 (DIO2), and 3 (DIO3), glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) and 4 (GPX4), thioredoxin reductase 1 (TXNRD1) and 3 (TXNRD3), and metallothionein 3 (MT3) were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR in liver, whereas the fatty-acid (FA) profile of breast muscle was determined by gas chromatography. Broilers supplemented with 0.3 ppm Se could tolerate low levels of Cd present in the diets, as there were no significant changes in the breast muscle FA profile, whereas excess Cd led to decreased polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and in particular n-6 PUFA. Furthermore, treatments mainly affected the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of SOD2, TXNRD3, and MT3, while age affected CAT, MSRB3, DIO2, DIO3, GPX4, TXNRD1, and MT3. In conclusion, dietary Se may help against the negative effects of Cd, but cannot be effective when Cd is present at excessive amounts in the diet.

The effect of dietary supplementation of coenzyme Q10 on reproductive variables of cadmium‐challenged male Japanese quails (Coturnix Japonica)

“…The decrease in PUFA observed in the PC group resulted from a significant decrease in C18:2 n‐6, an insignificant decrease in C18:3 n‐3, and C20:4 n‐6 in the PC group compared to other groups. In agreement with our results, broiler chickens fed with 100 ppm Cd produced meat with a lower concentration of PUFAs (Zoidis et al., 2019 ), probably due to increased oxidation processes. In this regard, Yamamoto ( 2017 ) also showed a decrease in PUFAs such as linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and arachidonic acid since they are highly susceptible to oxidation (Gutieridge et al., 1998 ), resulting in a higher percentage of SFA.…”

Muscle Antioxidant Activity and Meat Quality Are Altered by Supplementation of Astaxanthin in Broilers Exposed to High Temperature

“…The 500 ng of total RNA was reverse transcribed to complementary DNA (cDNA) using Improm-II Reverse transcription system (Promega, Fitchburg, MA, USA). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) condition and selection of primers were conducted following the description by Quinteiro-Filho et al [ 25 ], Kang et al [ 26 ], and Zoidis et al [ 27 ]. Reverse transcription-quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed using the Real-Time System (Mx3000P, Stratagen, La Jolla, CA, USA).…”

Simple kinetic method for assessing catalase activity in biological samples

“…Liver catalase activity has been used to estimate oxidative stress levels in broiler chicken [8 , 9] . In addition, Kikusato and Toyomizu [10] used catalase measurements in chicken liver to assess the different effects of heat stress on oxidative status of skeletal muscle with different muscle fiber compositions in broiler chicken while Zoidis et al., [11] used catalase activity in the livers of broiler chicken to investigate the effects of cadmium and selenium on the gene expression of liver antioxidant proteins and the composition of breast muscle fatty-acids. Overall, a comparison between the reliability of the PGR/Mo method and the peroxovanadate method ( Fig.…”