title: Agronomic selenium biofortification in Triticum durum under Mediterranean conditions: from grain to cooked pasta.
abstract: To improve the nutritional value of durum wheat and derived products, two foliar Se fertilisers (sodium selenate and selenite) were tested at four rates (0-10-20-40gha(-1)) in 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 in southwestern Spain. There was a strong and linear relationship between total Se or selenomethionine (Se-Met) accumulation in grain and Se dose for both fertilisers, although selenate was much more efficient. Se-Met was the main Se species (≈90%) of the total Se extracted from all materials. Milling caused a 27% loss of Se due to the removal of Se located in bran and germ. In the pasta making process and the cooking process the loss of Se, mainly as selenite, was about 7%. Durum wheat may be a good candidate to be included in Se biofortification programs under rainfed Mediterranean conditions, as foodstuffs derived from it could efficiently increase the Se content in the human diet.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Forest Environment Engineering, University of Extremadura Avda., Adolfo Suárez s/n, 06007 Badajoz, Spain. Electronic address: majops@unex.es.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Poblaciones
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodrigo
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Santamaría
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: McGrath
mesh_terms: D003296:Cooking; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005308:Fertilizers / Q000032:analysis*; D005511:Food Handling; D005527:Food, Fortified / Q000032:analysis*; D009753:Nutritive Value; D012643:Selenium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D013030:Spain; D014908:Triticum / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D012643:Selenium
keywords: Se-enriched wheat; Selenate; Selenite; Selenomethionine; Semolina