Agronomic biofortification of staple crops is an effective way to enhance their contents in essential nutrients up the food chain, with a view to correcting for their deficiencies in animal or human status. Selenium (Se) is one such case, for its uneven distribution in the continental crust and, therefore, in agricultural lands easily translates into substantial variation in nutritional intakes. Cereals are far from being the main sources of Se on a content basis, but they are likely the major contributors to intake on a dietary basis. To assess their potential to assimilate and biotransform Se, bread and durum wheat were enriched with Se through foliar and soil addition at an equivalent field rate of 100 g of Se per hectare (ha), using sodium selenate and sodium selenite as Se-supplementation matrices, in actual field conditions throughout. Biotransformation of inorganic Se was evaluated by using HPLC−ICP-MS after enzymatic hydrolysis for Se-species extraction in the resulting mature wheat grains. Selenomethionine and Se VI were identified and quantified: the former was the predominant species, representing 70-100 % of the total Se in samples; the maximum amount of inorganic Se was below 5 %. These results were similar for both supplementation methods and for both wheat varieties. Judging from the present results, one can conclude that agronomic biofortification of wheat may improve the nutritional quality of wheat grains with significant amounts of selenomethionine, which is an attractive option for increasing the Se status in human diets through Se-enriched, wheat-based foodstuff.
Selenium (Se) has a well-known role in prevention of chronic diseases associated with oxidative stress and inflammation. The objective of this study was the production of Se-enriched sauerkraut and to know the effect of selenite addition on indole glucosinolate (GLS) hydrolysis products, vitamin C, Se biotransformation and microbial quality as well as the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of sauerkraut. White cabbage was naturally fermented with 0.3 mg Na 2 SeO 3 /Kg fresh cabbage (NFSe) or without Se addition (NF). Chemical analyses were performed by LC-PAD, CE and LC-ICP-MS. Antioxidant capacity was determined using the oxygen radical antioxidant capacity (ORAC) method. Anti-inflammatory activity was measured as inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-induced macrophages. Total Se content reached up to 1.29 µg/g dry matter (0.11 µg/g fresh weight) and selenomethylselenocysteine was the major Se form found in NFSe cabbage. Se addition caused a slight reduction of ascorbígeno (6%) and vitamin C (5%) content in sauerkraut (P ≤ 0.05); however, LAB increased (3%), and the formation of indole-3-carbinol (74%) and indole-3acetonitrile (13%) were markedly enhanced (P ≤ 0.05). NFSe cabbage extracts showed higher (P ≤ 0.05) antioxidant activity (163 µmol Trolox/g d.m.) and anti-inflammatory potency (IC 50 = 44.01 µg/mL) compared to NF cabbage extracts. Consequently, Se-enriched sauerkraut can be considered as health-promoting food.
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