LAUSR

The response of nutrient status and biochemical processes in (i) Wistar and (ii) spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats upon dietary intake of selenium- (Se-) enriched defatted rapeseed (DRS) and/or vitamin E fortification was examined to assess the health benefit of DRS in animal nutrition. Twenty-four individuals of each type of rat were used: The control group was fed with an untreated diet (Diet A). In Diets B and C, soybean meal was replaced with defatted DRS, which comprised 14% of the total diet. The selenized DRS application resulted in ~3-fold increase of Se content in the diet. Diet C was also fortified with the addition of vitamin E, increasing the natural content by 30%. The Se content of the blood and kidneys tended to increase in the DRS groups, where the changes were significant (P < 0.05) only in the case of SHR rats. The iodine (I) content and the proportion of iodide in rat livers indicated a lower transformation rate of iodide into organoiodine compounds compared to the control. Slight and ambiguous alterations in the antioxidative response of the rat were observed in the DRS groups, but the addition of vitamin E to the diet helped to moderate these effects.