Veterinary Quarterly (Dec 2024)

Evaluation of biological selenium nanoparticles on growth performance, histopathology of vital organs and genotoxicity in Japanese quails (coturnix coturnix japonica)

  • Shabana Naz,
  • Gulnaz Bibi,
  • Rida Nadeem,
  • Ibrahim A. Alhidary,
  • Sifa Dai,
  • Muhammad Israr,
  • Rifat Ullah Khan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/01652176.2024.2319830
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 44, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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AbstractResearch on the effects of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs), particularly in Japanese quails, is lacking, especially regarding the potential for DNA damage. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of administering 0.2 and 0.4 mg/kg of Se-NPs on the growth performance, DNA integrity, and histopathological alterations of the liver, lung, kidney, and heart in quails. A total of 480 one-day-old Japanese quails were divided into three experimental groups as follows: Group 1 served as the control and received only basic feed, while Group 2 and 3 received 0.2 mg/kg and 0.4 mg/kg of Se-NPs via oral gavage. Our results suggested that, birds fed with Se-NPs at both levels significantly (p < .01) reduced feed intake, however, weight gain was significantly (p < .01) increased in quails supplemented with 0.2 mg/kg. Similarly, feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significantly (p < .01) reduced in group supplemented with 0.2 mg/kg Se-NPs. White blood cells increased significantly (P0.01) in 0.4 mg/kg while haemoglobin and red cell distribution width decreased (p < .01) in the same group. Both treatment regimens resulted in DNA damage and histopathological alterations; however, the adverse effects were more prominent in the group receiving the higher dose of 0.4 mg/kg. These findings indicate that the lower dose of 0.2 mg/kg may have beneficial effects on growth. However, the higher dose of 0.4 mg/kg not only negatively impacts growth but also leads to histopathological alterations in major organs of the body and DNA damage as well.

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