QUALITY OF ANIMAL AND HUMAN LIFE AS AFFECTED BY SELENIUM MANAGEMENT OF SOILS AND CROPS

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QUALITY OF ANIMAL AND HUMAN LIFE AS AFFECTED BYSELENIUM MANAGEMENT OF SOILS AND CROPSUmesh C. Gupta a & Subhas C. Gupta ba Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Crops and Livestock Research Centre , 440 UniversityAvenue, Charlottetown, PEI, C1A 4N6, Canadab Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery , Loma Linda University School of Medicine ,Loma Linda, CA, 92354, U.S.A.Published online: 05 Feb 2007.

To cite this article: Umesh C. Gupta & Subhas C. Gupta (2002) QUALITY OF ANIMAL AND HUMAN LIFE AS AFFECTED BYSELENIUM MANAGEMENT OF SOILS AND CROPS, Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 33:15-18, 2537-2555, DOI:10.1081/CSS-120014464

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PLENARY PAPER

QUALITY OF ANIMAL AND HUMAN LIFEAS AFFECTED BY SELENIUM

MANAGEMENT OF SOILS AND CROPS

Umesh C. Gupta1,* and Subhas C. Gupta2

1Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Crops and Livestock

Research Centre, 440 University Avenue, Charlottetown,

PEI, Canada C1A 4N62Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Loma Linda

University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA 92354

ABSTRACT

Nutrient management of soils and crops affects the quality of

crops with respect to their selenium (Se) and other mineral

composition. A number of world regions are deficient in Se to

meet the needs of animals and humans. In general, soils

containing less than 0.6 mg Se kg21 and crops containing less than

0.1 mg kg21 are considered deficient for animals and humans.

Areas receiving sulfur fertilization contain low Se because sulfur

interferes with Se uptake by plants. Principal Se responsive

diseases in animals can be divided in to four groups:

Musculoskeletal (white muscle disease and neonatal weakness),

reproductive (retained placentae and abortions), gastrointestinal

2537

DOI: 10.1081/CSS-120014464 0010-3624 (Print); 1532-2416 (Online)

Copyright q 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. www.dekker.com

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

COMMUNICATIONS IN SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT ANALYSIS

Vol. 33, Nos. 15–18, pp. 2537–2555, 2002

©2002 Marcel Dekker, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Marcel Dekker, Inc.

MARCEL DEKKER, INC. • 270 MADISON AVENUE • NEW YORK, NY 10016

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(diarrhea and ill thrift), and immunologic (immune system

deficits). Human pathology reflects these animal disease states.

Specific immune, reproductive, neurologic, and cardiac disorders

are found in humans deficient in Se. Additionally, certain cancers

and chronic diseases appear to be related to Se in the human diet.

A higher Se status in humans has proven beneficial in specific

disease states such as pediatric cardiomyopathy and viral

hepatitis. Selenium fertilization of soil, Se application as a foliar

spray or seed treatment with Se at 10 g Se ha21 applied as selenate

results in crops sufficiently enriched with Se, for one year, to

protect against Se deficiency. Selcotew ultra (CropCare Holdings

Ltd., Richmond, New Zealand) at 10 g Se ha21 provides a longer

residual effect with adequate Se levels in most crops for up to two

years. Although there are other methods of overcoming Se

deficiency but crop enrichment and consumption of crop products

containing Se in organic form is more bio available.

INTRODUCTION

Nutrient management of soils and crops affects the quality of food and feed

crops with respect to their mineral composition. Without liming, acid soils result

in levels of Mn and Al that are toxic to plants.[1] The nutrient in question for this

presentation is selenium (Se). Many areas of the world contain soils, which

produce crops deficient in Se from the animal and human standpoints. Selenium

deficiencies are reported in both western and eastern and coastal areas of North

America, Scandinavia, major parts of Europe, New Zealand, Australia, China,

and Japan.[2 – 4] Additional areas of Se deficiency are found where applications of

sulfur-based fertilizers depress Se uptake.[5]

The most important effect of Se relates to its high antioxidant ability in

preventing formation of free radicals or as a free radical scavenger, and its

capability of binding several toxic metals and thus counteracting their action.

Selenium is incorporated into an enzyme called glutathione peroxidase (GPH-

Px), which protects red blood cells and cell membranes against undesirable

reactions with soluble peroxides.[6] The induction of Se-dependent GPH

peroxidases diminishes the damaging effects of oxygen radicals whose

production is enhanced under many pathological conditions.[7] This enzyme

catalyzes the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide and a variety of organic hydro

peroxides including lipid hydro peroxides.[8] It has thus been implicated in

various pathologies such as cancer. More than 30 selenoproteins have been

identified in humans.[9] Though their roles are not yet clear, these selenoproteins

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are known to function in a variety of human systems. Selenium deficiency likely

lowers the levels of these proteins, and thus contributes to the varied pathologic

states associated with populations living in regions with low Se soils.[9]

So far Se has not been proven to be essential for plants. Furthermore, none

of the Se-containing enzymes active in animals are found in plants.

Consequently, interest in Se for plants is related to the quality of crops as

animal feed or as human food. The soil-plant system is the main source of Se for

animal feed and human food.

The objective of this study is to report low Se soils and to discuss the

management of Se deficient soils through various methods of fertilization to

produce Se enriched crops. This presentation will also review Se responsive

diseases in animals and discuss the role of Se in human health.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Methods of Selenium Analysis

There are a number of techniques available for determining Se as reviewed

by Gupta.[10] The selenium hydride (H2Se) generation technique has been most

commonly used over the last 20 years because it is accurate, rapid, and can detect

Se in very low quantities without difficulty. This method incorporates the

generation of H2Se with sodium borohydride and conversion of the H2Se to

atomic Se with an electric heated absorption tube, which minimizes matrix

problems and interferences associated with flame methods. Therefore, the

hydride generation electro thermal atomization AAS technique will be described

here as follows:

Dried ground plant or soil samples are digested with concentrated HNO3

and HClO4 (70%) in a digestion block. To the digest, 6 M HCl is added to reduce

Seþ6 to Seþ4. Details of this procedure are described by Gupta.[10] The final

digest is analyzed for Se by AAS using a continuous flow hydride generator as

described by Rothery[11] at a wave length of 1960.3 nm. Before reading the

unknown digests for Se, standard Se solutions of known concentration are run to

establish an absorbency curve. This results in recording the actual Se

concentration in the digest directly. This extract when refrigerated is stable for

14 days. The digest should be kept for 36 hours before taking Se measurements.

This technique allows accurate determination of Se in concentrations as low as

0.02 mg Se kg21. Similar assays may be used to determine tissue and blood Se

levels in livestock and humans, though these are generally limited to research

purposes.

A recently published study by Buckley et al.[12] described a microwave

digestion technique for plant and animal tissues whereby the materials can be

Se MANAGEMENT OF SOILS AND CROPS 2539



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digested without the use of HClO4. This is an improvement over the other

methods of digestion because perchloric acid digestion requires extreme

measures due to its explosive potential if handled improperly.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Selenium in Soils and Plants in Selenium Deficient Regions

In general, soils containing less than 0.6 mg Se kg21 are likely to produce

crops with insufficient Se (,0.1 mg Se kg21) to protect animals from Se

deficiency.[13] Selenate ðSe O224 Þ and selenite ðHSeO21

3 Þ are the dominant species

of Se in most soils and waters.[14] However, the selenate form of Se is most

available to plants. Plants grown on alkaline soils are high in Se because most of

the Se in these soils is present in selenate form which is highly soluble and readily

taken up by crops.[15]

Deficiency of Se generally occurs in acid soils derived from igneous parent

materials, and is intensified by excessive leaching.[16] Acidic clay soils with high

iron content in humid climates promote the reduction of selenate to the less

available selenite form of Se. Thus, the agricultural soils in Finland are low in Se

with Se content of 0.1–0.6 mg kg21 [17] Selenium content of soils is strongly

related to the parent material from which the soils are formed. Swedish soils are

low in Se as they have been formed from bedrock consisting of granite and gneiss

low in Se.[18] New Zealand zonal soils are low in Se since they are derived from

greywacke, an acidic rock low in Se.[13] Low Se soils result generally from weak

weathering of acid parent rock in cool, humid regions of the world. For example,

Podzol soils of eastern Canada, with a humid climate and acid in character are

very low in Se ranging from 0.06 to 0.3 mg kg21.[19] Selenium content in soils

and crops from several countries is summarized in Table 1.

Areas receiving sulfur (S) fertilization generally produce crops with low

Se. Sulfur interferes with Se uptake by plants.[5] Sulfur also interferes with Se

metabolism in animals.[22]

Selenium Responsive Diseases in Animals

Selenium deficiency is wide spread in grazing ruminants in many parts of

North America and other regions of the world. Deficiency symptoms of Se in

animals range from death losses in calves to decreased feed efficiency in adults.

Failure of normal growth, commonly known as ill thrift in young calves and

lambs,[23] is very common. Since Se is an essential nutrient, animals respond

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Ta

ble

1.

Sel

eniu

mC

on

ten

tin

So

ils

and

Cro

ps

fro

mS

ever

alC

ou

ntr

ies

Se

(mg

kg2

1)

So

ilC

ou

ntr

yS

oil

sP

lan

tsR

efer

ence

s

Ort

hic

Hu

mo

ferr

icP

od

zol

Eas

tern

Can

ada

0.0

6–

0.3

00

.01

–0

.04

Gu

pta

and

Win

ter[1

9]

Po

dzo

lsF

inla

nd

0.0

1–

0.0

60

.01

–0

.02

Kiv

isar

i[17

]

So

ils

form

edfr

om

gra

nit

eS

wed

enL

ow

0.0

11

–0

.01

8Jo

hn

sso

net

al.[1

8]

Dan

ish

soil

sD

enm

ark

0.1

4–

0.5

20

.01

–0

.04

Ham

dy

and

Gis

sel-

Nie

lsen

[20

]

Po

dzo

lsN

ewZ

eala

nd

0.3

7^

0.2

00

.01

–0

.03

Gu

pta

and

Wat

kin

son

[2]

Wo

rld

wid

e0

.06

–1

.80

—B

erro

wan

dU

re[2

1]




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positively to it where their diet would otherwise be deficient, i.e., where it

contains less than 0.1 mg Se kg21 in the dry matter.[24]

Probably the most serious Se deficiency problem in animals worldwide is

white muscle disease (WMD) observed in all live stock and birds at all ages and

was the first disease found to be Se responsive.[25] White muscle disease, also

known as nutritional myodegeneration (NMD), is the common term applied to

sheep, cattle, horses, and other herbivores having inadequate Se in their diets.[26]

The most serious consequence of WMD is that it affects skeletal or cardiac

muscles.[27,28]

The Se-responsive syndromes in animals can be classified into four major

disease categories:[25] Musculoskeletal, e.g., WMD and neonatal weakness;

reproductive, e.g., infertility, retained placentas and abortions; gastrointestinal,

e.g., diarrhea and ill thrift (a condition where young calves and lambs fail to grow

normally); and immunologic, e.g., immune system deficits. Specific Se

deficiency disorders include Exudative Diathesis (damage to cell membranes

that allows enzymes and other cell constituents to leak into extracellular spaces

including body cavities) in poultry, increased embryonic mortality in birds and

NMD in birds and fish,[29] and in chicks.[30,31] Retained placentas are reported in

dairy cows,[32] while mulberry heart disease is noted in pigs. Liver necrosis or

“hepatic dietetica” which causes liver damage in pigs is another Se-responsive

disease.[33,34] A detailed summary of Se responsive diseases in animals is

reported by Gupta and Gupta.[35]

Selenium and Human Health

There is increasing evidence that Se supplementation, as an essential

micronutrient, has health protective effects in humans.[36] Selenium has been

found to be an integral structural component of the active site of the mammalian

selenoenzyme GSH-Px[37]. This enzyme catalyzes the breakdown of hydrogen

peroxide and a variety of organic hydroperoxides including lipid hydroper-

oxides.[8] The decrease of Se concentration and GSH-Px activity is a common

symptom in patients with chronic renal failure[38] and other physical disorders as

reported later in this section.

In an earlier documented case, Chinese scientists reported that Se had been

linked to Keshan Disease, an endemic juvenile cardiomyopathy affecting

children and young women.[39,40] A Finnish study of heart disease showed that

cardiovascular disease victims had significantly lower serum-Se levels than did

unaffected persons.[41] This disorder results in a thickened ventricular wall and

consequent cardiac insufficiency.

Selenium is inadequate in large populations throughout the world.[9] There

are few good sources of Se in regions where the soils are low in Se. While many

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sea foods may be good sources of Se, these are not staples in many cultures’ diets.

As a consequence, Se supplementation in foods and supplements is increasingly

performed. The correlations between cancer rates and immune disease

progression are the strongest evidence for the benefits of this practice.[9]

Supplementation of Se in humans has shown significant reductions in

certain cancers such as prostate, colon, and lung.[42] Evidence for protection by

Se against malignancy in general, is more compelling. A Chinese study in regions

of high cancer incidence showed that blood Se levels were inversely correlated

with total cancer mortality.[43] More recently Clark et al.[44] showed that

supplementation with 200mg Se day21, as enriched yeast gave significant

reduction in total cancer incidences and in cancers of colo-rectal, lung, and

prostate origin.

Free radicals, products of oxidative reaction, can damage or alter DNA

resulting in abnormal cells and cancerous reactions. The induction of Se

dependent GSH-Px, e.g., diminishes the damaging effects of oxygen radicals.[7]

Higher intake levels of 200–300mg day21 appear to be necessary for the

protection against carcinogenic factors in pregnancy and during lactation. In

therapeutic applications, dosages may range from 300 to 1000mg day21 taken in

the form of sodium selenite.[7] Selenium has clearly been proven to be a very

potent carcinogenic agent in different models of spontaneous chemically induced

or transplanted tumors, or in cultures as reviewed by Neve.[45]

Selenium has been found to be a protective factor for Kashin–Beck disease

(KBD), a bone and joint disease in children. In a recent study, Neve[45]

demonstrated that iodine deficiency can be considered as a newly identified

etiological cofactor in the cause of KBD.

Selenium therapy as sodium selenite has been used effectively in

therapeutic applications in the treatment of several human diseases as

summarized by Schrauzer.[7] These include endemic viral hemorrhagic fever,

acute pancreatitis, lymphodema, edema, and hypertension in pregnancy, and

symptomatic treatment of brain tumors. Schrauzer[7] concluded that these are

only a few examples; Se therapy could be indicated in other disease states

associated with low plasma or tissue Se levels.

Health conditions in humans associated with Se deficiency are summarized

in Table 2.

Selenium Enrichment of Crops

There are a number of ways, Se can be made available to animals and

humans. For animals, it can be given orally or by injection, or mixed with

feeds.[31] For ruminants, it can be given in ingenious “heavy pellets” that




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Ta

ble

2.

Hea

lth

Co

nd

itio

ns

inH

um

ans

Ass

oci

ated

wit

hS

eD

efici

ency

Hea

lth

Co

nd

itio

ns

Ass

oci

ated

wit

h

Se

Defi

cien

cyP

hy

sica

lD

iso

rder

s/S

ym

pto

ms

Ref

eren

ces

Can

cer

inci

den

ceIn

crea

sed

inci

den

ceo

fp

rost

ate,

colo

rect

al,

and

lun

gca

nce

rs;

incr

ease

dca

nce

r

mo

rtal

ity

Wh

ang

eret

al.[4

2] ;

Cla

rket

al.[4

4] ;

Yu

etal

.[43

]

Dam

agin

gef

fect

of

ox

yg

en

free

rad

ical

s

Ab

no

rmal

/pre

mal

ign

ant

cell

sfr

om

alte

red

reac

tio

ns

Sch

rau

zer[7

]

Kas

hin

–B

eck

dis

ease

(Ost

eoar

thro

pat

hy

)

Bo

ne

and

join

td

isea

sein

chil

dre

n;

iod

ine

defi

cien

cym

ayse

rve

asco

fact

or

Nev

e[45

]

Kes

han

dis

ease

(car

dio

vas

cula

r

dis

ease

)

Car

dio

my

op

ath

yin

chil

dre

nan

dy

ou

ng

wo

men

,

thic

ken

edv

entr

icu

lar

wal

ls,

card

iac

insu

ffici

ency

Ch

enet

al.[3

9] ;

Lev

and

eran

dB

eck

[40

] ;

Sal

on

enet

al.[4

1]

Ox

idat

ive

stre

sso

nin

flam

mat

ory

con

dit

ion

s

Dev

elo

pin

grh

eum

ato

id,

arth

riti

s,

pan

crea

titi

s,an

das

thm

a

Ray

man

[9]

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dispense it slowly, over time.[46] In humans, it can be taken as pills/capsules,

foods rich in Se or as synthetic organic Se compounds.

It is generally agreed that organic forms of Se are more bioavailable than

inorganic forms.[47] Mahan and Jaques[48] reported that the Se status of not only

the neonatal animal but also the nursing pig was enhanced when an organic Se

source was fed to the reproducing animal during gestation and lactation. Organic

Se as yeast has been found to be much more effective than inorganic Se

compounds for increasing the Se concentration of cow’s milk.[49]

Selenium deficiency in feed or food crops can be overcome by the addition

of Se to fertilizers in New Zealand,[50] Denmark,[51] and Finland.[52] Selenium in

crops naturally rich in organic combination is more available than that from

inorganic sources.[53] Selenium fertilization practices have proven effective and

safe and have led to widespread application, with government support in New

Zealand and Finland. In Canada and the United States, Selcotew Ultra, a Se

product from New Zealand can be used in approved situations to boost Se content

of forages and pastures (Personal Communication with Mike Shirer, AgBio

Research Limited, Richmond, N.Z., March 1999). This section will only include

a discussion of the various methods of Se fertilization on the Se enrichment of

crops.

For soil applications, a variety of Se fertilizers using sodium selenite,

sodium selenate, selenate prills, and Se-enriched calcium nitrate have been used

(Table 3). The rates of Se applications in most investigations have varied, e.g.,

from a high of 100 g[55] to a low of 10 g Se ha21[54,58] Over the last 25 years, most

studies have been carried out using the selenate form as a source of Se fertilizers.

Regardless of the source used, 10 g Se (selenate form) has been found to be

adequate in enriching crops (.0.1 mg Se kg21 level) which when fed to livestock

should protect them from Se deficiency disease. The most recently available Se

product is Selcotew Ultra developed in New Zealand.[59] Results of studies using

this product on various feed crops are reported in Table 4. Selcotew ultra,

compared to other Se sources, provided adequate Se for up to two years in most

crops.[54] Selcotew Ultra is widely used in New Zealand and Australia with

developing markets in South Africa, Canada, USA, and Europe.[60] Selcotew ultra

fertilization of grazing pastures successfully maintains blood Se levels in

sufficiency range for 12 months in dairy and 24 months in beef, sheep, and

deer.[60]

Foliar application of Se has also been found to be an equally effective

means of enriching crops with Se (Table 5). Like soil application, 10 g Se ha21

when applied as foliar spray has been found to be effective in raising crop Se to

.0.1 mg kg21. level [54,64] When comparing the effect of foliar applied Se on

grains, soybeans were found to absorb far more Se[54] than barley grain.[61,63]

Among the three chief methods of Se enrichment, seed treatment has been

researched the least. MacLeod and Gupta[65] found that seed treatment with Se




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Ta

ble

3.

Cro

pS

elen

ium

Co

nce

ntr

atio

nas

Aff

ecte

db

yS

oil

Ap

pli

edS

elen

ium

Fer

tili

zers

Cro

pS

e(m

gk

g2

1)

Cro

pP

lan

tP

art

Rat

eo

f

Ap

pli

edS

eF

orm

of

Sel

eniu

mC

on

tro

lW

ith

Ad

ded

Se

Ref

eren

ces

Bar

ley

(Ho

rdeu

m

vulg

are

L.)

Gra

in1

0g

ha2

1S

od

ium

sele

nat

e0

.02

20

.45

1G

up

taan

dM

acL

eod

[54

]

Oat

(Ave

na

sati

vaL

.)

Gra

in1

0g

ha2

1S

od

ium

sele

nat

e0

.03

00

.55

6G

up

taan

dM

acL

eod

[54

]

So

yb

ean

(Gly

cin

e

ma

x(L

.)M

err.

)

Gra

in1

0g

ha2

1S

od

ium

sele

nat

e0

.05

91

.47

0G

up

taan

dM

acL

eod

[54

]

Lea

ves

0.0

30

0.9

28

Gra

in3

45

gh

a21

Sel

eno

us

acid

0.0

35

0.6

00

Od

om

etal

. [55

]

Wh

eat

(Tri

ticu

m

aes

tivu

mL

.)

Gra

in0

.00

7m

gS

ek

g2

1S

e-E

nri

ched

Ca

(NO

3) 2

Tra

ce0

.34

Sin

gh

[56

]

Flo

ur

16

mg

Se

kg2

1S

elen

ate-

Se

0.0

10

.16

Eu

rola

etal

.½5

7�

Flo

ur

10

gh

a21

Sel

enat

ep

rill

s0

.01

50

.11

7S

tep

hen

etal

.½5

8�

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offers great promise for enriching soybeans, rather high accumulators of Se. At

similar rates of seed-applied Se, soybeans contained higher Se than a number of

other feed and food crops [66] as shown in Table 6. Effect of various rates of

applied Se as seed treatment for two soybean cultivars have been reported in this

table. These results indicate that increasing Se from 10 to 40 g ha21

proportionately increased Se concentration in the soybean grain with no

detrimental effect to ground water. The pre-sowing treatment of barley seed with

selenite resulted in Se concentrations of several hundred-mg kg21 seeds making

it highly toxic to animals and humans.[68] Ylaranta[69] treated seed of barley and

wheat with selenate and found that, as with selenite, the same amount of selenate

was needed for seed pretreatment as for soil application to obtain a desirable Se

concentration in the crop.

Selenium fertilization of crops is occurring on a large scale in New Zealand

and Finland. In Sweden and United Kingdom, microelement solutions containing

Se are available for foliar application. Selcotew ultra, a Se product from NZ can

be used in approved situations to boost Se content of forages and pastures in the

United States and Canada. In Sweden and United Kingdom, microelement

solutions containing Se are available for foliar application.

CONCLUSIONS

Moderate to severe Se deficiencies are found in animals in many countries

because of the low to very low Se concentration in crops. These deficiencies may

be more dangerous to human health than previously considered. Some

Table 4. Crop Selenium Concentration as Affected by Soil Applied Selcotew Ultra

(10 g Se ha21)

Se (mg kg21)

Crop Plant Part Year 1 Year 2

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Grain 0.371 0.078

Oats (Avena sativa L.) Grain 0.436 0.122

Soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)

CV Maple Isle Grain 0.783 0.174

CV AC Proteus Grain 0.742 0.166

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) Whole tops 0.301 0.200

Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) Whole tops 0.370 0.333

Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) Whole tops 0.465 0.081

Source: Adapted from Gupta and MacLeod.[54]




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information exists that shows a high incidence of cardiovascular disorders and

certain cancers in regions with low Se. In future, it is likely that increased

attention will be paid to the importance of Se in human diets. The use of

expensive Se containing dietary supplements, which is common practice in many

countries is good only for individual self-supplementation and not feasible for the

Se uptake by the populations. Selenium supplementation of animals in Se

deficient areas by oral and parenteral methods and use of heavy pellets for

ruminants also represent only a partial solution of the Se deficiency problem. This

presentation shows that Se enrichment of food and feed crops is environmentally

safe, and an easy way of ensuring desirable Se intake in humans and animals.

Furthermore, naturally present Se is more bioavailable and perhaps safer than

synthetic and inorganic forms of Se.

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Documents

QUALITY OF ANIMAL AND HUMAN LIFE AS AFFECTED BY SELENIUM MANAGEMENT OF SOILS AND CROPS