OBJECTIVE This study aimed to review the literature about blood concentrations of selenium associated with gestational age, feeding, supplementation and related clinical features in preterm infants. DATA SOURCES Systematic review in the following databases: MEDLINE, PubMed, Google academics, SciELO. org, ScienceDirect (Elsevier) and CINAHL-Plus with Full Text (EBSCO). Articles published up to...

The use of selenium as animal feed supplement in Serbia was approved in 1989 for some categories of pigs, sheep and poultry. From 2000 selenium in animal feed became a requirement for all categories of farm animals. The aim of this study was to determine the consumption of selenium by Serbian livestock and in poultry production between 1990-1991 and 2000-2008 and to analyze the selenium content...

OBJECTIVE Epidemiological studies suggest that selenium protects against the development of several cancers. Selenium (sodium selenite) has been reported to interfere with cell growth and proliferation, and to induce cell death. In this study, we tested whether selenium could have growth-inhibiting effect in ovarian cancer cells and an orthotopic animal model. METHODS Cell growth in selenium-...

Although selenium metabolism is intricately linked to cardiovascular biology and function, and deficiency of selenium is associated with cardiac pathology, utilization of selenium in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease remains an elusive goal. From a reductionist standpoint, the major function of selenium in vivo is antioxidant defense via its incorporation as selenocysteine ...

Our work in dogs has revealed a U-shaped dose response between selenium status and prostatic DNA damage that remarkably parallels the relationship between dietary selenium and prostate cancer risk in men, suggesting that more selenium is not necessarily better. Herein, we extend this canine work to show that the selenium dose that minimizes prostatic DNA damage also maximizes apoptosis-a cancer...

Selenium is an essential trace element with growth-modulating properties. Decades of research clearly demonstrate that selenium compounds inhibit the growth of malignant cells in diverse experimental model systems. However, the growth-modulating and cytotoxic mechanisms are diverse and far from clear. Lately, a remarkable tumour selective cytotoxicity of selenium compounds has been shown, indic...

BACKGROUND Dietary selenium is of fundamental importance to maintain optimal immune function and enhance immunity during infection. To this end, we examined the effect of selenium on macrophage bactericidal activities against Staphylococcus aureus. METHODS Assays were performed in golden Syrian hamsters and peritoneal macrophages cultured with S. aureus and different concentrations of seleniu...

Selenoproteins are a unique group of proteins that contain selenium in the form of selenocysteine (Sec) co-translationally inserted in response to a UGA codon with the help of cis- and trans-acting factors. Mammalian selenoproteins contain single Sec residues, with the exception of selenoprotein P (SelP) that has 7-15 Sec residues depending on species. Assessing an individual's selenium status ...

BACKGROUND Elemental selenium nanoparticles have emerged as a novel selenium source with the advantage of reduced risk of selenium toxicity. The present work investigated whether heat treatment affects the size, structure, and bioactivity of selenium nanoparticles. METHODS AND RESULTS After a one-hour incubation of solution containing 80 nm selenium particles in a 90°C water bath, the nanopar...

Selenium (Se) is a micronutrient for many organisms but also toxic at higher concentrations. Both selenium deficiency and toxicity are serious problems worldwide. Owing to the similarity of selenium to sulfur, plants readily take up and assimilate selenate via sulfur transporters and enzymes and can even volatilize selenium. Selenium accumulating or volatilizing plants may be used for phytoreme...