Characteristic features of the effect of sodium selenite supplements on the physiological state in standard dark brown and pastel american minks (<i>Neovison vison</i>)
The object of the study were standard dark brown and pastel american mink (the family Mustelidae, Neovison vison ) that in 2 months of age were divided into two groups, 12 puppies each; the control group fed normal diet, the diet of the experimental group included the addition of sodium selenite (Na<sub>2</sub>SeO<sub>3</sub>) at 0.2 mg per day with a 10-day breaks for 4 months (July - October). When slaughtering animals, the probes of tissues were sampled, which were used for studying the activity of digestive enzymes in the pancreas and small intestine mucosa, the activity of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, and the content of low molecular weight antioxidants - vitamins E and A in the liver and kidneys. In comparison to dark brown mink, pastel american mink have higher activity of proteases and lower activity of amylase in the pancreas, lower content of vitamins E and A in the liver, higher levels of vitamin E and lower content of vitamin A in the kidney, as well as lower SOD activity in the liver and catalase activity in kidney (P<0.05). In pastel mink under the influence of sodium selenite, lipase and amylase activity in the pancreas increased (P<0.05), whereas in dark brown mink these parameters remained unchanged. Dipeptidase activity and protease in the small intestine increased in dark brown mink (P<0.05), while in pastel mink sodium selenite had no marked effect on the activity of these enzymes. Using sodium selenite caused no significant effect on the levels of vitamins E and A in the liver and kidneys in dark brown mink, whereas in pastel mink the differences detected in the content of α-tocopherol and retinol in liver and kidney. Thus, experiment revealed the specificity in the response of antioxidant enzymes to the additive of sodium selenite in the studied genotypes differing in color, which was to reduce the activity of catalase in the liver and kidneys in dark brown mink and to increase the activity of SOD in liver in pastel american mink.