Selenium is an essential trace element important for many physiological processes, especially for the functions of immune and reproductive systems, metabolism of thyroid hormones, as well as antioxidant defense. Selenium deficiency is usually manifested by an increased incidence of retention of placenta, metritis, mastitis, aborts, lowering fertility and increased susceptibility to infections. ...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether inclusion of glutamine, selenium, or both in a standard isonitrogenous, isocaloric preparation of parenteral nutrition influenced new infections and mortality among critically ill patients. DESIGN Randomised, double blinded, factorial, controlled trial. SETTING Level 2 and 3 (or combined) critical care units in Scotland. All 22 units were invited, and 10 parti...

In this issue, Stranges and colleagues (1) report findings from the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer (NPC) trial that show an increased risk for diabetes among participants randomly assigned to receive supplements with 200 g of selenium daily for 7.7 years compared with placebo. This effect was largely limited to participants in the top tertile of plasma selenium level at baseline ( 121.6 ng/mL...

Background: Artificial insemination is a valuable tool in genetic improvement programs and widely used breeding technique in farm animals. Semen processing and cryopreservation causes considerable damage to sperm DNA, motility apparatus, plasma membrane, acrosomal cap and thus, reduced fertility. Selenium is an integral part of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), an enzyme which protects cell inte...

Previous studies have shown that dietary supplementation with antioxidants is harmful during murine infection with the protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. In both Swiss Webster and C57BL/6 mice, supplementation with vitamin E and selenium resulted in an increased number of tissue cysts, tissue pathology, and weight loss during T. gondii infection (McCarthy & Davis, 2003). Microarrays are use...

Selenium is an essential trace mineral of fundamental importance to human health. Much of its beneficial influence is attributed to its presence within selenoproteins, a group of proteins containing the rare amino acid selenocysteine. There are 25 known human selenoproteins including glutathione peroxidases, thioredoxin reductases and selenoproteins. Selenoprotein S (SEPS1) is an endoplasmic re...

Evidence has shown that metabolic disorders are common in tumor cells, leading to increased oxidative stress. The increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) associated with low antioxidant activity has been related to several types of cancer. Selenium, an antioxidant micronutrient, may function as an antimutagenic agent, preventing the malignant transformation of normal cells. ...

The prevention of cobalt, copper, selenium and iodine deficiencies is an important feature of stock health programmes on many New Zealand farms. Various methods of prevention involving direct supplementation to animals and topdressing pastures have been evaluated. F%otocols for the amounts administered and frequency of supplementation for Co, Cu, Se and I have been outlined.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of vitamin E and selenium (Se) supplementation on the performance, egg quality and hatchability of eggs from Japanese breeding quails. The experiment was conducted over a 60 day period using 135 quails in a completely randomized design (CRD) with two levels of vitamin E and two levels of selenium (80 mg/kg of vitamin E+0.2 mg/kg organi...

BACKGROUND Selenium and coenzyme Q10 are essential for the cell. Low cardiac contents of selenium and coenzyme Q10 have been shown in patients with cardiomyopathy, but inconsistent results are published on the effect of supplementation of the two components separately. A vital relationship exists between the two substances to obtain optimal function of the cell. However, reports on combined sup...