Activity of GSHpx and toenail Se contents in Korean young adults

Abstract

Selenium, is a key constituent of enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, so effective in decreasing various oxidative stress. Toenail selenium level is a long term indicator for selenium nutritional status. The low activity of glutathione peroxidase in RBC is known to indicate a state of selenium deficiency. This study is aimed to measure the toenail selenium levels in Korean young adult and GSHpx activity in young adults. For the measurement of toenail selenium content, the instrumental activation analysis (=INAA) method was employed. Serums were subsequently used to analyze glucose and insulin level. The RBC was used to analyze the GSHpx activity. Toenail were washed in ultra‐sonicator and freeze‐dried at temperature of −60 C for 12~24 h. The toenail selenium contents were measured by INAA method using HANARO‐reactor. Analytical quality control was conducted using NIST SRMs. The toenail Se level and RBC GSHpx did not show significant difference by gender in our study participants. The toenail selenium status and GSHpx activity did not show significant correlation with insulin and glucose, but with c‐reactive protein level. This result suggests that the selenium status would be associated with inflammation in young adult and showed a vast research on the selenium status in Korean people is necessary for the evaluation of selenium association with risk factors for health.Grant Funding Source: National Research Foundation of Korea