Antioxidant Responses to Dietary Supplementation With Non‐Enriched and Selenium‐Enriched Mushrooms and Selenized Yeast in Piglets

Selenium plays an important role in antioxidant defense and metabolic regulation. This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with non-enriched and selenium-enriched Pleurotus ostreatus mushrooms, as well as selenized yeast, on selenium deposition and antioxidant responses in piglets, a relevant model for human nutrition. Sixty-four weaned piglets were fed control or supplemented diets for 21 days. Growth performance was not affected, indicating that the treatments were well tolerated. Selenium was higher in the loin of the supplemented groups than in the control group, whereas selenium concentration in the liver showed a numerical, but nonsignificant, increase in supplemented groups (p = 0.08), and no differences were observed in the kidney. Hepatic antioxidant activity was differentially modulated by dietary treatments. Glutathione peroxidase activity increased in all supplemented groups, whereas catalase activity increased only in piglets receiving selenium-enriched mushroom or selenized yeast, and superoxide dismutase activity increased only in the selenium-enriched mushroom group. Nitrite levels were reduced in all supplemented groups, while plasma antioxidant parameters remained unchanged. These findings indicate that dietary supplementation modulated hepatic antioxidant responses, although the relative contributions of selenium enrichment and mushroom bioactive compounds could not be determined. Trial Registration Number and Date of Registration: 106/2018.