Selenium

SELENIUM
What is Selenium?
● metalloid with many chemical and physical properties similar
to those of sulfur
● occurs naturally in the environment
● rarely found in native form as metallic gray to black
hexagonal crystals
● major constituent of 40 minerals and a minor constituent of 37
others
● also used as a nutritional supplement and in the preparation of
pharmaceuticals
● Radioactive selenium is used in diagnostic medicine
IntereSting FactS about Selenium
● Selenium gets its name from the Greek word "selene," which means
"moon." Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon.
● Selenium has atomic number34,meaning each atom has 34 protons.
The element symbol of selenium is Se.
● Selenium was discovered jointly in 1817 by Swedish chemists Jöns
Jakob Berzelius (1779–1848) and Johan Gottlieb Gahn (1745–1818).
● Although it is uncommonly found, selenium does exist in relatively
pure form, free in nature.
● Selenium is a nonmetal.Like many nonmetals, it exhibits different
colors and structures (allotropes) depending on the conditions.
● Selenium is essential for proper nutrition in many organisms,
including humans and other animals, but is toxic in larger amounts
and in compounds.
AbSorption,
TranSport, Excretion
● It is well absorbed from GIT (~50%)
● Exposure occurs primarily from food, but can be found in drinking water
(inorganic sodium selenate or sodium selenite)
● Homeostasis: excretion via urine and feces
● Other routes of elimination: sweat and exhalation of volatile forms of
selenium
Deficiency
● Associated with cardiomyopathy, skeletal muscle weakness, and
osteoarthritis
● Negative correlation: selenium intakes and rate of cancer of the large
intestine, rectum, prostate, breast, ovary, lungs, and leukemia
● Kashin-Beck disease (endemic osteoarthritis) that occurs during adolescent
and preadolescent years in northern China, North Korea, and eastern
Siberia
● Keshan disease (endemic cardiomyopathy) affects children and women in
childbearing age in China
Symptoms: dizziness, malaise, loss of appetite, nausea, chills, abnormal

electrocardiograms, cardiogenic shock, cardiac enlargements, and
congestive heart failure
To control: Selenium supplementation

Health
EffectS and
Toxicity
Health EffectS
● 1930s - considered toxic element
● 1940s - carcinogen
● 1950s - declared an essential element
● 1960s to 1970s - viewed as an anti carcinogen
● Glutathione peroxidase (in the form of selenocysteine) is part
of the cellular antioxidant defense system against free
radicals.
● Involved in the metabolism of thyroid hormones (e.g.,
deiodinase enzymes, and thioredoxin reductase)
Toxicity
Selenium toxicity can occur with acute or chronic ingestion of excess selenium.
★ Acute oral exposure to extremely high levels of selenium may produce

gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea) and
cardiovascular symptoms such as tachycardia.
★ Chronic exposure to very high levels can cause dermal effects,

including diseased nails and skin and hair loss, as well as neurologic
problems such as unsteady gait or paralysis.
Toxicity
➔ In 1984, 12cases of selenium toxicity were reported to the FDA and CDC, because
of the ingestion of selenium supplements, containing levels almost 200 times
higher than stated on the label.
The most commonsymptoms reported in these cases were nausea and vomiting,
nail changes, hair loss, fatigue, abdominal cramps, watery diarrhea, and garlicky
breath. No abnormalities of blood chemistry were seen in 67% of the victims, and
renal and liver functions were normal
➔ In Hubei Province (China) during 1961 through 1964, almost half of the population
of many villages died from chronic selenosis.
The most common signs of selenium poisoning were loss of hair and nails, skin
lesions, tooth decay, and abnormalities of the nervous system
Laboratory
Evaluation
Reference IntervalS for Selenium in AdultS
Selenium in plasma 46–143 g/L
Selenium in serum 95–165 g/L
Selenium in whole blood 58–234 g/L
Selenium in RBCs 75–240 g/L

REFERENCES
C L I N I C A L CH E MIST RY TECHNIQUES, PRINCIPLES,

C O R R E L AT I O N S S I X T H E D I T I O N B Y B I S H O P, F O D Y, & S C H O E F F
https://www.britannica.com/science/selenium
https://www.thoughtco.com/interesting-selenium-facts-609110

Selenium

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Selenium

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SELENIUM

Symptoms: dizziness, malaise, loss of appetite, nausea, chills, abnormal

To control: Selenium supplementation

★ Acute oral exposure to extremely high levels of selenium may produce

★ Chronic exposure to very high levels can cause dermal effects,

Selenium in plasma 46–143 g/L

Selenium in serum 95–165 g/L

Selenium in whole blood 58–234 g/L

Selenium in RBCs 75–240 g/L

C L I N I C A L CH E MIST RY TECHNIQUES, PRINCIPLES,

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