EFFECTS OF DIETARY SELENITE OR SELENOMETHIONINE ON TISSUE SELENIUM LEVELS OF ATLANTIC SALMON (SALMO-SALAR)

A feeding experiment was carried out to compare the effects of supplem enting a fish meal based diet with selenium as selenite or selenomethi onine on Atlantic salmon. Five duplicate groups of Atlantic salmon par r (mean weight 4.5 g) were given a basal diet either unsupplemented or supplemented with 1 and 2 mg Se/kg as selenite or selenomethionine re spectively, for 8 weeks. Weight gains were similar in all groups. Sele nium concentrations in the liver were highest in the groups given sele nite whereas muscle and whole-body selenium concentrations were highes t in the groups given selenomethionine. Only a minor increase in muscl e selenium concentration was observed by supplementing selenite. There were no significant differences in activity of the selenium-containin g enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, between the dietary groups, indicati ng a sufficient selenium status in all groups.