Selenium in biology
Selenium is an essential micronutrient for animals, though it is toxic in large doses. In plants, it sometimes occurs in toxic amounts as forage, e.g. locoweed. Selenium is a component of the amino acids selenocysteine and selenomethionine. In humans, selenium is a trace element nutrient that functions as cofactor for glutathione peroxidases and certain forms of thioredoxin reductase.[1] Selenium-containing proteins are produced from inorganic selenium via the intermediacy of selenophosphate (PSeO33−).
Indicator plants[edit]
Certain species of plants are considered indicators of high selenium content of the soil, since they require high levels of selenium to thrive. The main selenium indicator plants are Astragalus species (including some locoweeds), prince's plume (Stanleya sp.), woody asters (Xylorhiza sp.), and false goldenweed (Oonopsis sp.)[10]
Medical use of synthetic selenium compounds[edit]
The substance loosely called selenium sulfide (with the approximate formula SeS2) is the active ingredient in some anti-dandruff shampoos.[11] The selenium compound kills the scalp fungus Malassezia, which causes shedding of dry skin fragments. The ingredient is also used in body lotions to treat Tinea versicolor due to infection by a different species of Malassezia fungus.[12]
Several clinical trials have assessed the use of selenium supplements in critically ill adults; however, the effectiveness and potential benefits of selenium supplementation in this context is not well understood.[13]
Detection in biological fluids[edit]
Selenium may be measured in blood, plasma, serum or urine to monitor excessive environmental or occupational exposure, confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized victims or to assist in a forensic investigation in a case of fatal overdosage. Some analytical techniques are capable of distinguishing organic from inorganic forms of the element. Both organic and inorganic forms of selenium are largely converted to monosaccharide conjugates (selenosugars) in the body prior to being eliminated in the urine. Cancer patients receiving daily oral doses of selenothionine may achieve very high plasma and urine selenium concentrations.[14]
Food sources[edit]
Dietary selenium comes from nuts, cereals, meat, mushrooms, fish, and eggs. Brazil nuts are the richest ordinary dietary source and could cause selenium toxicity if consumed regularly – though the actual concentration of selenium (as with any plant-based food sources, such as another selenium-accumulating "paradise nut" Lecythis, belonging to the same family Lecythidaceae) is soil-dependent and may vary significantly by geographic location. In descending order of concentration, high levels are also found in kidney, tuna, crab, and lobster.[36][37]
The human body's content of selenium is believed to be in the 13–20 milligram range.[38]
Evolution in biology and biosynthetic considerations[edit]
Selenium is incorporated into several prokaryotic selenoprotein families in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes as selenocysteine,[50] where selenoprotein peroxiredoxins protect bacterial and eukaryotic cells against oxidative damage. Selenoprotein families of GSH-Px and the deiodinases of eukaryotic cells seem to have a bacterial phylogenetic origin. The selenocysteine-containing form occurs in species as diverse as green algae, diatoms, sea urchin, fish and chicken. Selenium enzymes are involved in utilization of the small reducing molecules glutathione and thioredoxin.
Trace elements involved in GSH-Px and superoxide dismutase enzymes activities, i.e. selenium, vanadium, magnesium, copper, and zinc, may have been lacking in some terrestrial mineral-deficient areas.[50] Marine organisms retained and sometimes expanded their seleno-proteomes, whereas the seleno-proteomes of some terrestrial organisms were reduced or completely lost. These findings suggest that aquatic life supports selenium utilization, whereas terrestrial habitats lead to reduced use of this trace element.[51][52] Marine fishes and vertebrate thyroid glands have the highest concentration of selenium and iodine. From about 500 Mya, freshwater and terrestrial plants slowly optimized the production of "new" endogenous antioxidants such as ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), polyphenols (including flavonoids), tocopherols, etc. A few of these appeared more recently, in the last 50–200 million years, in fruits and flowers of angiosperm plants. In fact, the angiosperms (the dominant type of plant today) and most of their antioxidant pigments evolved during the late Jurassic period.
About 200 Mya, new selenoproteins were developed as mammalian GSH-Px enzymes.[53][54][55][56]