Pilot study of toxicological safety evaluation in acute and 28‐day studies of selenium nanoparticles decorated by polysaccharides from Sargassum fusiforme in Kunming mice

Abstract

The monodisperse and nearly spherical selenium nanoparticles decorated by polysaccharides from Sargassum fusiforme (SFPS-SeNPs) were prepared, characterized, and evaluated in acute and 28-day toxicological safety studies.In the acute toxicity study, mice underwent oral administration of 26.94, 40.28, 60.21, 90.11, and 134.70 mg Se/kg of SFPS-SeNPs for 14 days. In the 28-day study, mice underwent a daily oral administration of 17.75, 8.87, and 4.43 mg Se/kg/day of SFPS-SeNPs, 4.43 mg Se/kg/day of Na 2 SeO 3 , and normal saline for 28 days. The animals' general behavior, body weight, biochemical and hematologic parameters, organ coefficients, pathological morphology, Se content, and accumulation rate of Se in vital organs were determined. Results showed that the median lethal dose was 88.76 Se mg/kg and no observed adverse effect level was 4.43 mg Se/kg/day for 28 days. Compared with Na 2 SeO 3 , SFPS-SeNPs may lead to slightly higher toxicological effects, and it probably accumulates in the liver in the oral dose of 4.43 mg Se/kg/day in Kunming mice. SFPS and nanotechnology can reduce the toxicity of selenium, and SFPS-SeNPs or SeNPs-polysaccharides can be potential candidates for drug delivery and food supplement.

Algal polysaccharides–Selenium nanoparticles regulate the uptake and distribution of selenium in rice plants

“…Tang et al (2021) showed that Gracilaria lemaneiformis polysaccharidesselenium nanoparticles (GLPs-SeNPs) had excellent biocompatibility. Furthermore, Zhao et al (2022) showed that Sargassum fusiforme (a type of algae) polysaccharides-selenium nanoparticles (SFPS-SeNPs) can reduce the toxicity of Se, and SFPS-SeNPs improved the stability of SeNPs and exerted the biological activities of SFPS (Wang et al, 2021b). However, there are no studies on APS-SeNPs in the field of agricultural Se-enriched fertilizers.…”