Pharmacokinetics of Sodium Selenite Administered Orally in Blood and Tissues of Selenium-Deficient Ducklings.

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for humans and animals. Appropriate amount of Se in the body can prevent a variety of diseases. However, Se deficiency leads to pathological changes such as skeletal muscle necrosis and pancreatic atrophy in livestock and poultry. Se preparations are widely used in the prevention and treatment of Se-deficient disease, but there is no unified standard of medication, and the safe dose range of Se is narrow. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the pharmacokinetics of low-Se ducklings and to formulate drug administration schemes. In the present study, eighty 1-day-old healthy ducklings were randomly selected, and fed with low-Se diet to 30 days of age (blood Se content ≦ 0.03 μg/mL). After the low Se duckling models were duplicated, blood samples and tissues of livers, pancreases, and thigh muscles were collected at different time points to detect Se content following oral administration of 0.1% sodium selenite (Na