Biofortification of Se and induction of the antioxidant capacity in lettuce plants

Selenium biofortification and antioxidant activity in lettuce plants fed with selenate and selenite

“…Thus, the present study suggests a need for further research on biofortification of different crops with Se, in order to meet ideal Se consumption by Brazilians. These results shown in Figure 1 are conform with the earlier result by Ríos et al (2008). Figure 2 shows changes in the activity of SOD, CAT and lipid peroxidation in lettuce leaves treated with an increasing concentrations of Se, either as selenate or selenite.…”

“…Thus, biofortification of agricultural crops with Se, by means of adding Se along with fertilizers, is a useful technique to increase the consumption of Se by animals and man (Chen et al 2002, Ríos et al 2008, White and Broadley 2009, Broadley et al 2010. Inorganic Se forms differ in terms of absorption and mobility within plants; selenate is more easily transported to shoots, while selenite tends to accumulate in plant roots (Zhang et al 2003).…”

“…Inorganic Se forms differ in terms of absorption and mobility within plants; selenate is more easily transported to shoots, while selenite tends to accumulate in plant roots (Zhang et al 2003). For this reason, in some Se biofortification programs, use of selenate is recommended over selenite (Ríos et al 2008).…”

Can biofortification of zinc improve the antioxidant capacity and nutritional quality of beans?

“…These include various enzymes with the function of remove reactive oxygen species, in which the metals are used as cofactors of antioxidant enzymes, like various forms of superoxide dismutase (requires Cu, Mn and/or Zn; Johnson and Giulivi, 2005), catalase (requires Fe) and glutathione peroxidase (requires selenium) (Mates et al, 1999). Ríos et al (2008) conducted a study with Se biofortification in lettuce and they observed that the treatment with 40 µM selenate was the most adequate for lettuce plants, improving the antioxidant activity and accumulation of selenium, which is important in food and consumer health. Likewise, Blasco et al (2008) mentions that biofortified lettuce plants with iodine at a dose of 40 µM under the form of I-improved biomass, antioxidant activity and mineral content of lettuce, ensuring the viability of a program biofortification.…”

Selenium Biofortification in Rice - A pragmatic perspective

“…Hu et al (2002) have also showed that foliar application of selenite alone was as efficient as selenium-enriched blended fertilizers, in terms of yield, selenium, protein and lipid content, and crude ash. Besides, several authors Ríos et al, 2008;Broadley et al, 2010) found that selenium content in crops might increase with additional fertilization, being therefore a useful technique to augment selenium intake of human populations.…”