Selenium accumulation in coturnix quail fed seleno-L-methionine.

The accumulation of selenium in Coturnix quail, a sensitive species to selenium toxicity, was studied. Quail were fed diets containing 0.7 µg/g (control), 12 µg/g (low-Se), and 22 µg/g (high-Se) as seleno-L-methionine for four weeks. At the end of the four weeks, blood selenium in the treatment groups had a positive significant relationship to diet, and selenium in blood was approximately two times, and in livers was approximately three times, the dietary concentration. Quail in the low-Se group accumulated selenium to higher levels over the same time period than American kestrels and mallards fed selenomethionine at similar concentrations in other studies. Food consumption was similar among the groups throughout the study. Body mass, as a percent of initial body mass, was similar in the control and low-Se groups (102%) but lower in the high-Se group (97%). Liver mass, as a percent of initial body mass, showed a positive dose-dependent response to dietary selenium, and liver mass was significantly higher in quail fed 22 µg Se/g than in control quail. Unlike other species studied, accumulation of selenium in blood did not plateau but continued to increase until the study ended.