Effect of Selenium Nanoparticles and Chitosan on Production Performance and Antioxidant Integrity of Heat-Stressed Broiler

Dietary Supplementation of Microalgae and/or Nanominerals Mitigate the Negative Effects of Heat Stress in Growing Rabbits

Heat stress (HS) is one of the most significant environmental factors that result in fluctuations and shrinkage in rabbit growth, health, and overall productivity. This study aims to investigate the effects of dietary mineral nanoparticles (selenium or zinc) and/or Spirulina platensis (SP) independently and in combination on stressed growing rabbits. A total of 180 weaned growing New Zealand White rabbits were included in this study and randomly divided into six dietary treatments. Rabbits received a basal diet (control group; CON group) or fortified with SP (1 g/kg diet), selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs, 50 mg/kg diet), zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs, 100 mg/kg diet), and a mixture of SP and SeNPs (SPSeNPs) or SP and ZnNPs (SPZnNPs) groups for 8 weeks during summer conditions. The obtained results demonstrated a significant increase in the final body weight and weight gain (p < 0.05). Additionally, the feed conversion ratio was improved during the periods from 6 to 14 weeks in the treated rabbits compared to those in the CON group. Dietary supplements considerably improved (p < 0.05) the blood hematology (WBCs, Hb, RBCs, and Hct) and some carcass traits (liver weights and edible giblets). All dietary supplements significantly decreased serum levels of total glycerides (p < 0.0001), AST (p = 0.0113), ALT (p = 0.0013), creatinine (p = 0.0009), and uric acid (p = 0.0035) compared to the CON group. All treated groups (except ZnNPs) had lower values of total bilirubin and indirect bilirubin in a dose-dependent way when compared to the CON group. The values of IgA, IgG, and superoxide dismutase were significantly improved (p < 0.05) in all treated rabbits compared to the CON group. Compared with the CON group, the levels of T3 (p < 0.05) were significantly increased in all treated growing rabbits (except for the ZnNP group), while the serum cortisol, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), malondialdehyde, and protein carbonyl were significantly decreased in the treated groups (p < 0.05). Dietary supplements sustained the changes in hepatic, renal, and cardiac impairments induced by HS in growing rabbits. Adding SP (1 g/kg diet) or SeNPs (50 mg/kg diet) in the diet, either individually or in combination, improved growth performance, blood picture, and immunity-antioxidant responses in stressed rabbits. Overall, these feed additives (SP, SeNPs, or their mixture) can be applied as an effective nutritional tool to reduce negative impacts of summer stress conditions, thereby maintaining the health status and improving the heat tolerance in growing rabbits.

Cross-Talk Between Selenium Nanoparticles and Cancer Treatment Through Autophagy

Autophagy is commonly referred as self-eating and a complex cellular process that is involved in the digestion of protein and damaged organelles through a lysosome-dependent mechanism, and this mechanism is essential for maintaining proper cellular homeostasis. Selenium is a vital trace element that plays essential functions in antioxidant defense, redox state control, and range of particular metabolic processes. Selenium nanoparticles have become known as a promising agent for biomedical use, because of their high bioavailability, low toxicity, and degradability. However, and in recent years, they have attracted the interest of researchers in developing anticancer nano-drugs. Selenium nanoparticles can be used as a potential therapeutic agent or in combination with other agents to act as carriers for the development of new treatments. More intriguingly, selenium nanoparticles have been extensively shown to impact autophagy signaling, allowing selenium nanoparticles to be used as possible cancer treatment agents. This review explored the connections between selenium and autophagy, followed by developments and current advances of selenium nanoparticles for autophagy control in various clinical circumstances. Furthermore, this study examined the functions and possible processes of selenium nanoparticles in autophagy regulation, which may help us understand how selenium nanoparticles regulate autophagy for the potential cancer treatment.

Contribution of nanotechnology to greater efficiency in animal nutrition and production

Feed costs present a major burden in animal production for human consumption, representing a key opportunity for cost reduction and profit improvement. Nanotechnology offers potential to increase productivity by creating higher-quality and safer products. The feed sector has benefited from the use of nanosystems to improve the stability and bioavailability of feed ingredients. The development of nanotechnology products for feed must consider the challenges raised by biological barriers as well as regulatory requirements. While some nanotechnology-based products are already commercially available for animal production, the exponential growth and application of these products requires further research ensuring their safety and the establishment of comprehensive legislative frameworks and regulatory guidelines. Thus, this article provides an overview of the current state of the art regarding nanotechnology solutions applied in feed, as well as the risks and opportunities aimed to help researchers and livestock producers.

A Meta-analysis of Optimum Level of Dietary Nanoselenium on Performances, Blood Constituents, Antioxidant Activity, Carcass, and Giblet Weight of Broiler Chickens

Contradictory reports regarding the effects of nanoselenium (NanoSe) on the performance of broiler chickens may occur. Therefore, the optimum supplementation of NanoSe doses needs to be determined. The current meta-analysis study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness and the optimum doses of NanoSe supplementation in broiler diets on performance, blood constituents, carcass, and giblet weight by considering breed and sex. The database was obtained from online scientific publications by searching through search engines such as Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed by entering the keywords nanoselenium, performance, antioxidants, and broiler. A total of 25 articles were included in the meta-analysis database. The study group was treated as a random effect while NanoSe dose, breed, and sex were treated as fixed effects. Daily body weight gain, carcass weight, and breast weight increased quadratically (P < 0.05), and FCR decreased quadratically (P < 0.05) in the starter and cumulative periods with increasing NanoSe supplementation. NanoSe supplementation tended to decrease cumulative feed intake linearly (P < 0.1) and decreased (P < 0.05) abdominal fat, albumin, red blood cells, ALT, and MDA levels. In contrast, levels of total protein, globulin, glucose, AST, white blood cells, cholesterol, triglyceride, and the weight of the liver, heart, gizzard, bursa of Fabricius, thymus, and spleen were not affected by NanoSe supplementation. Increasing the dose of NanoSe increased (P < 0.05) the GSHPx enzyme and Se concentration in breast muscle and liver and tended to enhance (P < 0.01) the CAT enzyme. It is concluded that a proper dose of NanoSe supplementation in a broiler diet improves body weight gain, feed efficiency, carcass, and breast weight without adverse effects on giblets. Dietary NanoSe elevates Se concentration in the breast muscle and liver and antioxidant activity. The current meta-analysis shows that the optimum dose for body weight gain and FCR is 1 to 1.5 mg/kg.

Selenium-Rich Black Soldier Fly Supplementation Enriches Serum Indexes and Egg Selenium Content in Laying Hens

A certain amount of selenium (Se) is usually added to the diet of laying hens to improve the quality and nutritional value of eggs. The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of selenium-rich black soldier fly (BSF) supplementation in diets on laying production performance, egg quality, serum indexes, and egg selenium content of Hy-line variety brown laying hens. A total of 288 at 49-week-old healthy laying hens were divided into 3 treatment groups with 6 replicates per group and 16 hens per replicate using a single-factor completely randomized design. Treatments consisted of (1) control (basal diet without supplemental Se), (2) 0.30 mg/kg supplemental Se, (Se as sodium selenite, SS), and (3) 0.30 mg/kg supplemental Se (Se as selenium-rich black soldier fly, SE-BSF). Laying performance was not affected by dietary Se. There was no effect of selenium-rich BSF on egg quality (P > 0.05). The contents of malonaldehyde (MDA) were significantly reduced (P < 0.05). On the contrary, dietary Se supplementation increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD, P < 0.05) and catalase (CAT, P < 0.05) and increased the concentration of reduced glutathione (P < 0.05). In addition, selenium-rich BSF supplementation significantly increased the Se content of eggs (P < 0.05). These results indicate that Se supplementation did not affect laying production performance and egg quality of laying hens, but the supplementation could improve antioxidant capacity and increased the Se content of eggs.

Cellular evidence of communication strategies for small intestinal high endothelial cells: Ultrastructural insights of nano-scale exosomes and autophagy

Although several immune related cells of small intestine play an essential role in the intestinal homeostasis. However, information related to ultrastructural evidence of Nano-scale exosomes-multivesicular bodies and autophagic pathway in the high endothelial cells (HECs) of the small intestine in laying birds is still ambiguous. In present study, the HECs secreted the early endosome (ee), late endosome (le) and multivesicular bodies (MVBs) in the lamina propria of layer small intestine was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Besides that, in the cytoplasm of HECs showed many autophagosomes were directly associated with lysosomes and mitochondria. Further, the immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence results showed that, the immunoreactivity and immuno-signaling of Nano-scale exosome related proteins, cluster of differentiation (CD63) and tumor susceptibility gene (TSG101), and autophagic related proteins, autophagic related gene (ATG7) and microtubule-associated protein light chain (LC3) were strong positive expression in the lamina propria of small intestine. These results prove that HECs play a well-known immunological role in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis. In summary, these findings indicate that the small intestine's HECs have developed an innovative way of communication.

Effect of Nano-selenium on exosomes secretion associated with sperm maturation within the epididymis

Selenium is commonly used as a supplement in the poultry diet and plays an important role in male fertility. However, the effect of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) on exosome secretion associated with spermatozoa in the epididymis is largely unknown. H&E staining, Immunohistochemistry, Immunofluorescence and Western blot were performed to study the effect of Se-NPs on exosomes secretion associated with sperm maturation in epididymis. The results indicated that the Se-NPs showed a significant contribution to sperm concentration by light microscopy. It was observed that there was an increase in the spermatozoa concentration in the epididymis of the treated group as compared to the control group. Furthermore, exosome secretion, the expression of tumor susceptibility gene-101 (TSG-101) and cluster of differentiation (CD-63) proteins was identified by immunochemistry, immunofluorescence assay, and western blotting. After nano-selenium treatment, the exosome markers TSG-101 and CD-63 were strong positive immunoreactivity and immunosignaling in the lumen followed by epithelial lining of the epididymis. However weak positive immunoreactivity and immunosignaling were seen of TSG-101 and CD63 in the control group. In addition, highly significant protein expression of TSG-101 and CD63 in the treated group as compared to the control group was confirmed by western blotting. In conclusion, the above findings provide rich evidence about the Se-NPs play a dynamic role in exosome secretion that might be essential for sperm motility and maturation within epididymis.

Biogenic Selenium Nanoparticles Synthesized Using Alginate Oligosaccharides Attenuate Heat Stress-Induced Impairment of Breast Meat Quality via Regulating Oxidative Stress, Metabolome and Ferroptosis in Broilers

Selenium (Se) is an indispensable trace element with versatile functions in antioxidant defense in poultry. In our previous study, we synthesized a novel type of biogenic selenium nanoparticle based on alginate oligosaccharides (SeNPs-AOS), and found that the particles are sized around 80 nm with an 8% Se content, and the dietary addition of 5 mg/kg of SeNPs-AOS could effectively alleviate the deleterious effects of heat stress (HS) in broilers, but it is still unclear whether SeNPs-AOS can improve the meat quality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effects of SeNPs-AOS on breast meat quality in heat-stressed broilers, and explore the relevant mechanisms. Birds at the age of 21 days were randomly divided into four groups with six replicates per group (eight broilers per replicate) according to a 2 × 2 experimental design, using HS (33 ± 2 °C, 10 h/day vs. thermoneutral, TN, under 23 ± 1.5 °C) and SeNPs-AOS (5 mg/kg feed vs. no inclusion) as variables. The results showed that dietary SeNPs-AOS decreased the cooking loss (p < 0.05), freezing loss (p < 0.001), and shear force (p < 0.01) of breast muscle in heat-stressed broilers. The non-targeted metabolomics analysis of the breast muscle identified 78 differential metabolites between the HS and HS + SeNPs-AOS groups, mainly enriched in the arginine and proline metabolism, β-alanine metabolism, D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism, pantothenate, and CoA biosynthesis pathways (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, supplementation with SeNPs-AOS increased the levels of the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), the activities of catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and decreased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the breast muscle (p < 0.05) in broilers under HS exposure. Additionally, SeNPs-AOS upregulated the mRNA expression of CAT, GPX1, GPX3, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), masculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma G (MafG), MafK, selenoprotein W (SELENOW), SELENOK, ferritin heavy polypeptide-1 (FTH1), Ferroportin 1 (Fpn1), and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) (p < 0.05), while it downregulated Kelch-like ECH-associated pro-36 tein 1 (Keap1) and prostaglandin-endoperoxide Synthase 2 (PTGS2) expression (p < 0.05) in broilers under HS. These findings demonstrated that the dietary addition of SeNPs-AOS mitigated HS-induced oxidative damage and metabolite changes in the breast muscle of broilers, which may be related to the regulation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway and selenoprotein synthesis. In addition, SeNPs-AOS upregulated the breast muscle gene expression of anti-ferroptosis-related molecules in broilers under HS, suggesting that SeNPs-AOS can be used as novel Se supplements against HS in broilers.

Appropriate Genetic Approaches for Heat Tolerance and Maintaining Good Productivity in Tropical Poultry Production: A Review

Heat stress is a major environmental threat to poultry production systems, especially in tropical areas. The effects of heat stress have been discovered in several areas, including reduced growth rate, reduced egg production, low feed efficiency, impaired immunological responses, changes in intestinal microflora, metabolic changes, and deterioration of meat quality. Although several methods have been used to address the heat stress problem, it persists. The answer to this problem can be remedied sustainably if genetic improvement approaches are available. Therefore, the purpose of this review article was to present the application of different approaches to genetic improvement in poultry in the hope that users will find suitable solutions for their poultry population and be able to plan future poultry breeding programs.

Chitosan Oligosaccharides Alleviate Heat-Stress-Induced Lipid Metabolism Disorders by Suppressing the Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Response in the Liver of Broilers

Heat stress has been reported to induce hepatic oxidative stress and alter lipid metabolism and fat deposition in broilers. Chitosan oligosaccharides (COSs), a natural oligosaccharide, has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and lipid-lowering effects. This study is conducted to evaluate dietary COS supplementation on hepatic anti-oxidant capacity, inflammatory response, and lipid metabolism in heat-stressed broilers. The results indicate that heat-stress-induced poor (p < 0.05) growth performance and higher (p < 0.05) abdominal adiposity are alleviated by COS supplementation. Heat stress increases (p < 0.05) serum AST and ATL activity, serum and liver MDA, TG, TC, and LDL-C levels, and the expression of hepatic IL-1β, IL-6, SREBP-1c, ACC, and FAS, while it decreases (p < 0.05) serum SOD and CAT activity, liver GSH-Px and SOD activity, and the expression of hepatic Nrf2, GPX1, IL-10, MTTP, PPARα, and CPT1. Nevertheless, COS supplementation decreases (p < 0.05) serum AST and ATL activity, serum and liver MDA, TG, TC, and LDL-C levels, and the expression of hepatic IL-1β, IL-6, SREBP-1c, ACC, and FAS, while it increases (p < 0.05) serum SOD and CAT activity, liver GSH-Px activity, and the expression of hepatic Nrf2, CAT, IL-10, LPL, MTTP, PPARα, and CPT1. In conclusion, COS could alleviate heat-stress-induced lipid metabolism disorders by enhancing hepatic anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity.