Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Dietary Prevention of Obesity-related Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #107441
Title: SELENIUM DEPRIVATION DECREASES TOTAL PLASMA HOMOCYSTEINE IN RATS FED A TORULA YEAST-BASED DIET

Author
item Uthus, Eric
item Finley, John
item Davis, Cindy

Submitted to: Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/10/1999
Publication Date: 3/15/2000
Citation: Uthus, E.O., Finley, J.W., Davis, C.D. 2000. Selenium deprivation decreases total plasma homocysteine in rats fed a torula yeast-based diet [abstract]. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal. 14:A536.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: To study the effect of selenium (Se) status on indices of methionine metabolism, male weanling Fisher-344 rats (N=10-12/group) were fed a basal torula yeast Se-deficient diet supplemented with 0, 0.1, or 2. 0 mg Se/kg diet as selenite or selenomethionine (SeMeth). The basal diet contained 3.9 +/- 4.4 ng Se/g. After feeding the rats their respective diets for 56 days, parameters of methionine metabolism were measured. To determine Se status liver glutathione peroxidase (GPX) was measured. Total plasma homocysteine was significantly lower in the Se-deficient rats than in rats fed 0.1 or 2.0 mg selenite or SeMeth/kg diet; there was no difference among rats fed 0.1 or 2 mg selenite or SeMeth/kg. Se status or form of selenium had no effect on liver S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM), S- adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), or the ratio SAM/SAH. The mechanism leading to a decrease in plasma homocysteine as a result of Se deficiency is unknown. Possibly it could be the result of an altered tissue or cellular distribution or altered metabolism of homocysteine as a response to the effect of Se deficiency on the redox thiol status.