|
In order to obtain data on environmental sources and human exposures to selenium, a trace element essential for mammals, a number of common foods, wild and domestic animal tissues and tissues of human beings were analyzed by a photofluorometric technique. Selenium was found in few vegetables, but seafood, meats and most grains contained appreciable amounts. The daily intake in a standard diet was 62..mu..g. Cooked and processed foods contained considerably less selenium than raw foods. The calculated human body burden of selenium was 14.6 mg (range 13-20 mg). Wild animals contained two to three times as high a concentration of selenium as the human beings analyzed. Kidneys showed the highest concentrations. Selenium did not accumulate in human hair with age, but increased in hair of rats fed selenate. Under some conditions, selenium is carcinogenic in rats. No recorded case of human or animal cancer is known which could be attributed to environmental selenium, or the lack of it.
|
