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I’m pleased to announce a re-formulation of Great Lakes Blend. We have replaced sodium selenite with Alltech’s Sel-Plex.
The FDA has recently cleared the use of Alltech’s
Sel-Plex organic selenium source for equine feeds. Sel-Plex represents a
breakthrough that will help equine professionals 
address
problems of marginal selenium status that effect health and productivity of all
horses, particularly the broodmare, nursing foal, performance horse and
stallion.
Below are some of the specifics about Sel-Plex, the research in horses, and the FDA clearance:
Selenium in Sel-Plex, because it is biosynthesized by yeast, is in the same forms that are naturally present in plants such as pasture grasses, wheat and soybeans, which are selenoamino acids and related compounds. Sel-Plex selenium is more digestible and better retained in tissues than inorganic selenium, which let’s the animal build nutrient reserves against periods of increased demand without risking toxicity.
The nutritional advantage Sel-Plex provides is a safe and effective means of improving selenium status. In the past only inorganic selenium sources (selenite, selenate) were used in animal feeds. While inorganic sources were able to address the basic needs of mature, idle animals, the added demand for selenium associated with events such as athletic work, gestation/lactation or semen production in the stallion are less easily met with inorganic forms. For this reason research with Sel-Plex in horses has focused on performance horses and the broodmare/foal.
Briefly, key findings of studies with exercising Thoroughbreds, conducted by Pagan and co-workers at Kentucky Equine Research were:
Higher retention of Sel-Plex vs selenite SE
At exercise onset, blood SE rises
In response to exercise, urinary loss of selenite, but not Sel-Plex increased.
These data indicate that Sel-Plex is better able to meet the increased demand for selenium in it’s antioxident role in horses subjected to oxidative stress, both in terms of tissue reserves and reduced urinary loss on exercise.
The ability of Sel-Plex to allow horses to develop SE reserves is critical to the broodmares, which must transfer SE to the fetus during gestation, and again into colostrums and milk. Researchers at the University of Kentucky fed mares 1 or 3 mg selenite SE or 3 mg of Sel-Plex SE beginning 55 days pre-foaling and continuing
8 weeks post partum. Effects of Sel-Plex or selenium status noted in this study have implications for mare health and reproduction as well as foal immune defense:
Higher mare blood SE post-foaling
Higher foal blood SE
Higher colostrum and milk SE
Higher foal serum IgG at 12 hours when 3 vs. 1 mg SE was given mare, especially when Sel-Plex was the source.
Specifics of the FDA clearance:
The significance of the FDA having evaluated this specific product is the message of safety and efficacy of Sel-Plex it conveys, which are not necessarily transferable to products derived from other yeasts. The Food Additive Petition data submitted to the FDA for Sel-Plex clearance in animal feeds included no less than 14 dedicated toxicity studies performed under GLP conditions at independent testing facilities. In all cases, the toxicity of Sel-Plex was assessed in parallel to that of sodium selenite. On an acute oral toxicity basis, Sel-Plex was found to be anywhere from 50-500 fold less toxic than sodium selenite.
I hope that this is of interest to your equine nutrition program. Furthermore if you have any questions about the Sel-Plex product or selenium in general please contact me at:
Phone: 248-391-1349
e-mail: greatlakesblend@netzero.com
Bill Cortis
