Selenio, selenoproteínas y estrés oxidativo en pequeños rumiantes. Revisión

Animal production conditioned by multiple factors, within these, the most important is nutrition. Some of the most common nutritional problems in production are to the geographical characteristics and properties of soils directly related, in different areas of grazing and forage production, an example of this is observed in the poor natural distribution of selenium in soils throughout the world, a deficiency that affects the production, products and by-products of small ruminants. Minerals, and within these, microminerals such as selenium have an important role in the nutrition of small ruminants, since, although they do not provide energy, they are essential for the synthesis of nutrients, participating in numerous metabolic activities as cofactors, maintaining the physiological effect balance in the body. Selenoproteins are mainly enzymes with antioxidant capacity, which participate in the oxidative balance, eliminating free radicals that could damage cells, causing diseases that affect metabolic function in the animal organism, with a detriment in animal production, so that deficiency through supplementation must be corrected.