The influence of different forms of selenium on vitality of laboratory rats

The aim of the study was to compare the influence of two forms of selenium (sodium selenite, selenium nanoparticles) on the health status of animal organism. As model animals for this experiment males of the Wistar albino rat were selected and divided into 3 groups of 5 pieces. The first group (n = 5) served as control with no selenium (Se) addition. The second group was fed with mixture containing 1.2 mg/kg of diet of sodium selenite (Na2SeO3). The third group (n = 5) was fed with mixture containing selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs, 1.2 mg Se/kg of diet). The experiment lasted 28 days, during which rats were regularly weighed. At the end of experiment animal were euthanized and samples of liver and small intestine tissue were collected and subjected to histological analysis. Histological analysis showed liver damage in all experimental groups (treated and non-treated) of rats. Another measured parameter was total content of selenium in blood and liver tissue. Analysis showed that the addition of selenium to the feed dose has an effect on increasing amount of selenium in the liver and blood tissues. However, statistically significant difference was observed only in group Na2SeO3 in blood (by 97%). From the results of regular weighing of rats during the experiment, it is apparent that the addition of selenium nanoparticles has no significant effect on weight gain.