Nutritional Deficiencies

Selenium - updated: 17 November 2008

Are there functional consequences of a reduction in selenium intake in UK subjects?

Proc Nutr Soc. 2004 Nov;63(4):513-7

Jackson MJ, Dillon SA, Broome CS, McArdle A, Hart CA, McArdle F.

Dietary Se levels in the UK have fallen over the last 20 years and recent surveys indicate that average Se intakes are 30-40 microg/d, which is well below the current UK reference nutrient intake for adult men (75 microg/d) or women (60 microg/d). Functional consequences of this decline have not been recognised, although epidemiological data suggest it may contribute to increased risk of infections and incidence of some cancers. Previous data have indicated that biochemical changes in Se-dependent proteins occur in otherwise healthy UK subjects given small Se supplements. The current studies have focused on the effect of small Se supplements on the immune response since there is evidence of specific interactions between Se intake and viral replication, and since the potential anti-cancer effects of Se may be mediated by non-antioxidant effects of Se such as changes in immune function. Data indicate that subjects given small Se supplements (50 or 100 microg Se/d) have changes in the activity of Se-dependent enzymes and evidence of improved immune function and clearance of an administered live attenuated virus in the form of poliovirus vaccine. Responses of individual subjects to Se supplements are variable, and current work is evaluating potential explanations for this variability, including genetic variability and pre-existing Se status.

Publication Types:

• Review

Biofortification of UK food crops with selenium

Proc Nutr Soc. 2006 May;65(2):169-81

Broadley MR, White PJ, Bryson RJ, Meacham MC, Bowen HC, Johnson SE, Hawkesford MJ, McGrath SP, Zhao FJ, Breward N, Harriman M, Tucker M.

Se is an essential element for animals. In man low dietary Se intakes are associated with health disorders including oxidative stress-related conditions, reduced fertility and immune functions and an increased risk of cancers. Although the reference nutrient intakes for adult females and males in the UK are 60 and 75 microg Se/d respectively, dietary Se intakes in the UK have declined from >60 microg Se/d in the 1970s to 35 microg Se/d in the 1990s, with a concomitant decline in human Se status. This decline in Se intake and status has been attributed primarily to the replacement of milling wheat having high levels of grain Se and grown on high-Se soils in North America with UK-sourced wheat having low levels of grain Se and grown on low-Se soils. An immediate solution to low dietary Se intake and status is to enrich UK-grown food crops using Se fertilisers (agronomic biofortification). Such a strategy has been adopted with success in Finland. It may also be possible to enrich food crops in the longer term by selecting or breeding crop varieties with enhanced Se-accumulation characteristics (genetic biofortification). The present paper will review the potential for biofortification of UK food crops with Se.

Publication Types:

• Review

The daily dietary selenium intake of West German adults

Biol Trace Elem Res. 1989 Apr-May;20(1-2):1-14

Oster O, Prellwitz W.

The selenium content of food consumed in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was determined for the estimation of the dietary selenium intake of West German adults. The daily dietary selenium intake of men is 47 micrograms (micrograms) and that of women 38 micrograms, corresponding to 0.67 microgram/kg body weight per day for both men and women. Animal protein is the main source of dietary selenium, accounting for 65.5% of the total selenium intake. Pork contributes 25.1% to the total Se intake, reflecting the current consumption and the selenium supplementation of feedstock rather than the availability of selenium from natural dietary sources. The selenium intake of adults in West Germany is only slightly higher than in New Zealand, Finland, and Italy, nearly equal to that in Belgium and France, and distinctly lower than in Great Britain, the USA, Canada, and Japan.

Publication Types:

• Review

The problem of the prevention of selenium deficiency in Belgium

Arch Belg. 1989;47(7-8):291-311

Lederer J.

In Belgium the dietary intake of selenium is moderately insufficient. It is in the neighbourhood of the minimum of the recommended allowance. The administration of selenium supplements to healthy Belgian adults favorably modifies biological indices: plasma Se, glutathione peroxidase activity of plasma and thrombocytes. A supplement of 100 micrograms/d is adequate, in salt or in cereals grown with enriched fertilizer

Publication Types:

• Review

Selenium deficiency and Balkan endemic nephropathy

Kidney Int Suppl. 1991 Nov;34:S12-

Maksimovi? ZJ.

Data on selenium (Se) deficiency in Yugoslavia are summarized. These data include the selenium contents of stream sediments, rocks, soils, cereal crops grown in these soils, and human serum and scalp hair from several towns and regions. Analyses of human tissues in Yugoslavia show very low Se concentrations in both endemic and nonendemic areas. In some regions, including those with endemic villages, selenium contents of grains and human serum and hair are extremely low, approaching those in the low-selenium zone in China. According to the biological function of selenium, a very low intake of selenium may be a fundamental underlying condition that would predispose persons to attack by other agents in the development of Balkan endemic nephropathy

Publication Types:

• Study

Publication Types:

• Review