Off-campus UNL users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your NU ID and password. When you are done browsing please remember to return to this page and log out.
Non-UNL users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.
NUTRITIONAL ASPECTS OF SELENIUM
Abstract
The overall objective of this project was to investigate the effect of protein and/or dietary fiber supplementation on selenium absorption and metabolism. These relationships might be of importance in determining either minimum selenium nutritional requirements or levels of intake at which this mineral becomes toxic. Three studies compose the project. The first study involved the controlled feeding of fifteen young adults. Subjects were fed a laboratory-controlled diet with and without supplements of selenium or selenium plus guar gum. Selenium supplementation resulted in increased selenium excretion in urine and feces. Supplementation of guar gum, as a dietary fiber, tended to increase fecal selenium excretion and to decrease selenium balance and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity regardless of dietary selenium levels. Therefore, there might be a considerable interaction between guar gum and selenium bioutilization in humans. In study II, seventy two weanling mice were fed varied levels of dietary selenium (0 ppm, 0.2 ppm or 2 ppm) and protein (10%, 15% or 25%). Numerically, urinary selenium excretion increased and fecal selenium excretion and selenium balance decreased with increased dietary protein level within the same level of dietary selenium; however, selenium absorption rate tended to decrease with increased dietary protein level. Whole blood and brain tissue glutathione peroxidase activities were higher in animals fed moderate protein level than those fed the other two protein levels. In study III, a survey was conducted to investigate the correlation between dietary fiber or protein intake and urinary selenium excretion. There was a negative correlation between dietary fiber and urinary selenium excretion levels while dietary protein and urinary selenium excretion were positively correlated. There was a significant difference between urinary selenium excretion of elderly and young adolescent groups. There were also numerical differences in urinary selenium excretion between smoker and non-smoker and between medicated and non-medicated subjects.
Subject Area
Nutrition
Recommended Citation
CHOE, MYEON, "NUTRITIONAL ASPECTS OF SELENIUM" (1987). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8715846.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8715846