The Role of Selenium in Pet Health and Nutrition

Dear Colleagues,

This week we have chosen a mineral and our pets as the stars of our article.

Specifically, we are going to review selenium, a mineral whose deficiency is a key factor in many diseases, such as Kashin Beck disease, cardiomyopathy, or simply immunosuppression.

Selenium is a key cofactor of several molecules, but the best known are selenoproteins, and specifically we would choose glutathione peroxidase, probably the most important antioxidant molecule in the body, whose functions include: neutralising the oxidation process of fats, regenerating vitamin E and, above all, converting the H2O2 produced by superoxide dismutase or by the innate immune system into water.

So, indirectly, selenium reduces oxidative stress and also immunosuppression due to excessive immune system activity, for example, due to chronic infections.

However, the narrow difference between the required dose and the toxic dose means that we have to be vigilant, and although organic supplements such as selenomethionine are considered more bioavailable and also less toxic, care must be taken to avoid both overdose and deficiency.

Finally, we have attached an article with a good summary of the use of selenium in our pets’ diets.

Disfruten del artículo.