Influence of Dietary Selenium Yeast Supplementation on Fermentation Pattern, Papillae Morphology and Antioxidant Status in Rumen of Goat

The present study evaluated the influence of selenium yeast (SY) on fermentation pattern, papillae morphology and antioxidant status in rumen of goats. A total of ten goats were randomly divided into two groups; control (C, n=5) and selenium yeast (SY, n=5). Animals were fed concentrate (2 % BW) as basal diet without (C) or with selenium yeast (SY, @ 0.3 mg.Se.kg(-1).diet) supplementation. Hay and water was provided ad libitum. The results revealed that the molar concentrations of propionate and the total short chain fatty acid (SCFA) increased (P < 0. 005) and the pH decreased (P < 0.05) in the ruminal fluid of SY goats compared to C. The morphometry showed that the length, width and the density of papillae in the atrium ruminis, ventral rumen and ventral blind sac of rumen increased (P < 0.05) which led to an increase (P < 0.005) in the surface area of these 3 regions in SY group compared to C. The epithelial thickness in rumen papillae wall increased (P < 0.05) which was associated with higher (P < 0.05) number of cell layers in stratum germinativum in SY group compared to C. The glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity increased (P < 0.05) in ruminal epithelium of SY goats compared to C. The present study demonstrated an improvement in ruminal fermentation, and hyperplasia and enhanced GSH-Px activity in the ruminial epithelium of goats fed SY supplemented diet compared to control that were fed diet without SY supplementation.