Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Influence of dietary methionine on the metabolism of selenomethionine in rats

Journal Article · · Journal of Nutrition; (USA)
OSTI ID:5546504

To determine the influence of methionine on selenomethionine (SeMet) metabolism, weanling male rats were fed for 8 wk a basal diet marginally deficient in sulfur amino acids, containing 2.0 micrograms selenium (Se)/g as DL-SeMet and supplemented with 0, 0.3, 0.6 or 1.2% DL-methionine. Increased dietary methionine caused decreased selenium deposition in all tissues examined but increased glutathione peroxidase activity in testes, liver and lungs. A positive correlation was found between dietary methionine and the calculated percentage of selenium associated with GSHPx. In a second experiment, {sup 75}SeMet was injected into weanling male rats which had been fed the basal diet containing 2.0 micrograms selenium as DL-SeMet with or without the addition of 1.0% methionine. The selenoamino acid content of tissues and the distribution of {sup 75}Se in erythrocyte proteins were determined. In comparison to the rats fed the basal diet without added methionine, significantly more {sup 75}Se-selenocysteine was found in liver and muscle, more {sup 75}Se was found in erythrocyte GSHPx and less {sup 75}Se was found in erythrocyte hemoglobin of rats fed 1.0% methionine. These data suggest that methionine diverts SeMet from incorporation into general proteins and enhances its conversion to selenocysteine for specific selenium-requiring proteins, such as GSHPx.

OSTI ID:
5546504
Journal Information:
Journal of Nutrition; (USA), Journal Name: Journal of Nutrition; (USA) Vol. 119:7; ISSN 0022-3166; ISSN JONUA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English