title: Effects of excess selenomethionine on selenium status indicators in pregnant long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis).
abstract: Forty pregnant long-tailed macaques were treated daily for 30 d with 0, 25, 150, or 300 micrograms selenium as L-selenomethionine/kg body weight. Erythrocyte and plasma selenium and glutathione peroxidase specific activities, hair and fecal selenium, and urinary selenium excretion were increased by and were linearly related to L-selenomethionine dose. Hair selenium was most sensitive to L-selenomethionine dose, with an 84-fold increase in the 300 micrograms selenium/(kg-d) group relative to controls (r = 0.917). Daily urinary selenium excretion (80-fold, r = 0.958), plasma selenium (22-fold, r = 0.885), erythrocyte selenium (24-fold, r = 0.920), and fecal selenium (18-fold, r = 0.911) also responded strongly to L-selenomethionine. Erythrocyte and plasma glutathione peroxidase specific activities increased 154% and 69% over controls, respectively. Toxicity was associated with erythrocyte selenium > 2.3 micrograms/mL, plasma selenium > 2.8 micrograms/mL, and hair selenium > 27 micrograms/g. Plasma, erythrocyte, and hair selenium concentrations may be useful for monitoring and preventing the toxicity of L-selenomethionine administered to humans in cancer chemoprevention trials.
authors.affiliation: USDA-ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center, CA 94129.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hawkes
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Willhite
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Omaye
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: W N
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Choy
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Hendrickx
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000097:blood; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012643:Selenium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity / Q000652:urine; D012645:Selenomethionine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D012645:Selenomethionine; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D012643:Selenium