Effects of selenium supplementation on oxidative stress in the brain

Abstract

Selenium is known to produce great effect on the oxidative stress of cells, both systemic and cerebral. Brain degeneration occurs as a result of several factors, one of them is the oxidative stress. We aim To analyze selenium effect on rats’ brains, investigating serum and immunohistochemical oxidative stress markers, and the neural structural pattern. Selenium supplementation with 48 μg chelated selenium and with 96 μg chelated selenium for 60 days, followed by an evaluation of oxidative stress markers, as well as immunohistochemical markers. Lower TBARS was observed in the rats subjected to 44mcg Se supplementation when compared to the other groups. Among the other oxidative stress markers, and immunohistochemical markers, little variation was observed. Improvement was observed in TBARS levels. However, the other measurements showed little statistical relevance. This raises some questioning regarding the dose used or the formulation and its bioavailability as influential factors in the oxidative response.