Effect of fasting on lipid metabolism and oxidative stability in fattening chicken fed a diet supplemented with organic selenium

Abstract. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of organic selenium dietary supplementation on serum and tissue lipid composition after fattening period and after 48 h fasting in fattening chicken. The study was performed in the Ross hybrid line chicken divided into two groups: control group fed standard diet and Sel Plex group fed standard diet supplemented with 0.3 ppm organic selenium. Blood, liver, intestine and adipose tissue samples were taken upon fattening completion and after 48 h fasting. Total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triacylglycerol and lipoprotein concentrations were determined in serum, whereas total and free cholesterol, triacylglycerol, lipid peroxide and selenium concentrations and glutathione peroxidase activity (GSH-Px) were determined in tissue samples. During fattening period, the correlation of organic selenium with lipid metabolism manifested as decreased concentrations of serum triacylglycerols and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) (P<0.05), liver triacylglycerols (P<0.05), adipose tissue cholesterol (P<0.05) and small intestine cholesterol (P<0.05), and reduced lipid peroxidation (P<0.05). Upon chicken exposure to 48 h fasting, organic selenium supplementation resulted in increased free cholesterol concentration in adipose tissue (P<0.05), GSH-Px activity in the liver (P<0.05), and selenium (P<0.05) accumulation in the liver.