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      Selenium–Fascinating Microelement, Properties and Sources in Food

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      Author(s):
      Publication date (Electronic):
      Journal: Molecules
      Publisher: MDPI
      Keywords: selenium, food, supplementation, bioavailability, human health

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          Abstract

          Selenium is a micronutrient that is essential for the proper functioning of all organisms. Studies on the functions of selenium are rapidly developing. This element is a cofactor of many enzymes, for example, glutathione peroxidase or thioredoxin reductase. Insufficient supplementation of this element results in the increased risk of developing many chronic degenerative diseases. Selenium is important for the protection against oxidative stress, demonstrating the highest activity as a free radical scavenger and anti-cancer agent. In food, it is present in organic forms, as exemplified by selenomethionine and selenocysteine. In dietary supplementation, the inorganic forms of selenium (selenite and selenate) are used. Organic compounds are more easily absorbed by human organisms in comparison with inorganic compounds. Currently, selenium is considered an essential trace element of fundamental importance for human health. Extreme selenium deficiencies are widespread among people all over the world. Therefore, it is essential to supplement the deficiency of this micronutrient with selenium-enriched food or yeast cell biomass in the diet.

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          Selenium biochemistry and its role for human health.

          Marco Roman, Petru Jitaru, Carlo Barbante (2014)
          Despite its very low level in humans, selenium plays an important and unique role among the (semi)metal trace essential elements because it is the only one for which incorporation into proteins is genetically encoded, as the constitutive part of the 21st amino acid, selenocysteine. Twenty-five selenoproteins have been identified so far in the human proteome. The biological functions of some of them are still unknown, whereas for others there is evidence for a role in antioxidant defence, redox state regulation and a wide variety of specific metabolic pathways. In relation to these functions, the selenoproteins emerged in recent years as possible biomarkers of several diseases such as diabetes and several forms of cancer. Comprehension of the selenium biochemical pathways under normal physiological conditions is therefore an important requisite to elucidate its preventing/therapeutic effect for human diseases. This review summarizes the most recent findings on the biochemistry of active selenium species in humans, and addresses the latest evidence on the link between selenium intake, selenoproteins functionality and beneficial health effects. Primary emphasis is given to the interpretation of biochemical mechanisms rather than epidemiological/observational data. In this context, the review includes the following sections: (1) brief introduction; (2) general nutritional aspects of selenium; (3) global view of selenium metabolic routes; (4) detailed characterization of all human selenoproteins; (5) detailed discussion of the relation between selenoproteins and a variety of human diseases.
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            Why Nature Chose Selenium.

            Hans Reich, Robert Hondal (2016)
            The authors were asked by the Editors of ACS Chemical Biology to write an article titled "Why Nature Chose Selenium" for the occasion of the upcoming bicentennial of the discovery of selenium by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1817 and styled after the famous work of Frank Westheimer on the biological chemistry of phosphate [Westheimer, F. H. (1987) Why Nature Chose Phosphates, Science 235, 1173-1178]. This work gives a history of the important discoveries of the biological processes that selenium participates in, and a point-by-point comparison of the chemistry of selenium with the atom it replaces in biology, sulfur. This analysis shows that redox chemistry is the largest chemical difference between the two chalcogens. This difference is very large for both one-electron and two-electron redox reactions. Much of this difference is due to the inability of selenium to form π bonds of all types. The outer valence electrons of selenium are also more loosely held than those of sulfur. As a result, selenium is a better nucleophile and will react with reactive oxygen species faster than sulfur, but the resulting lack of π-bond character in the Se-O bond means that the Se-oxide can be much more readily reduced in comparison to S-oxides. The combination of these properties means that replacement of sulfur with selenium in nature results in a selenium-containing biomolecule that resists permanent oxidation. Multiple examples of this gain of function behavior from the literature are discussed.
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              Selenium in food and the human body: a review.

              Esperanza Cabrera, Miguel Alarcón (2008)
              Selenium levels in soil generally reflect its presence in food and the Se levels in human populations. Se food content is influenced by geographical location, seasonal changes, protein content and food processing. Periodic monitoring of Se levels in soil and food is necessary. Diet is the major Se source and approximately 80% of dietary Se is absorbed depending on the type of food consumed. Se bioavailability varies according to the Se source and nutritional status of the subject, being significantly higher for organic forms of Se. Se supplements can be beneficial for subjects living in regions with very low environmental levels of Se. Several strategies have been followed: (1) employment of Se-enriched fertilizers; (2) supplementation of farm animals with Se; (3) consumption of multimicronutrient supplements with Se. Nevertheless, detailed investigations of possible interactions between Se supplements and other food components and their influence on Se bioavailability are needed. Suppliers also need to provide more information on the specific type of Se used in supplements. In addition, research is lacking on the mechanisms through which Se is involved in hepatocyte damage during hepatopathies. Although Se potential as an antioxidant for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is promising, additional long-term intervention trials are necessary. As a result, indiscriminate Se supplements cannot be reliably recommended for the prevention of CVD in human beings. Some interesting findings reported an association of Se intake with a reduced prevalence and risk for prostate and colon cancer. However, random trials for other cancer types are inconclusive. As a final conclusion, the general population should be warned against the employment of Se supplements for prevention of hepatopathies, cardiovascular or cancer diseases, because benefits of Se supplementation are still uncertain, and their indiscriminate use could generate an increased risk of Se toxicity.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Molecules
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Molecules
                Journal ID (publisher-id): molecules
                Title: Molecules
                Publisher: MDPI
                ISSN (Electronic): 1420-3049
                Publication date (Electronic): 03 April 2019
                Publication date Collection: April 2019
                Volume: 24
                Issue: 7
                Electronic Location Identifier: 1298
                Affiliations
                Faculty of Food Sciences, Department of Biotechnology, Microbiology and Food Evaluation, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159 C, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland; marek_kieliszek@ 123456sggw.pl or marek-kieliszek@ 123456wp.pl ; Tel.: +48-22-593-7657; Fax: +48-22-593-7681
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5836-4865
                Article
                Publisher ID: molecules-24-01298
                DOI: 10.3390/molecules24071298
                PMC ID: 6480557
                PubMed ID: 30987088
                SO-VID: f196c647-feef-4c50-99cb-36fe408e4273
                Copyright © © 2019 by the author.
                License:

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                Date received : 11 March 2019
                Date accepted : 02 April 2019
                Categories
                Subject: Review

                Keywords: selenium,food,supplementation,bioavailability,human health
                Data availability:
                Keywords: selenium, food, supplementation, bioavailability, human health

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