Abstract
Selenium is considered as an essential micronutrient. The daily requirement of selenium is 55 µg. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) has drawn their attention to establish the micronutrient range of selenium, required by the human body. Report from China has shown that an ecological correlation exists with the selenium content in the soil and increased mortality due to cancer and cardiovascular diseases with light intake of selenium. This led to the interest in assessing the nutritional status of selenium. Rice is the staple food of Sri Lankans and studies on selenium content in rice grown in Sri Lanka have not been reported. The present study reports the selenium content in Bg 350 variety of rice and soil obtained from twelve districts (Gampaha, Colombo, Matara, Hambantota, Kegalle, Matale, Anuradhapura, Pollanaruwa, Kurunegalle, Puttalam, Ampara and Moneragalle), in Sri Lanka determined using Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption spectrometer (HGAAS). The results of the study showed that selenium content in rice and soil obtained from Gampaha and Colombo districts were very low and less than the detectable levels of the instrument (0.5 μg/kg). Except for rice and soil from Pollanaruwa district that had a very high selenium content in rice (61.2 μg/kg) and soil (69.8 μg/kg), the respective values from other districts were low [13.8 μg/kg (Kegalle) -6.3 μg/kg (Anuradhapura)] and [20.3 μg/kg (Matara) -9.5 μg/kg (Matale)].
Highlights
Selenium is a trace metal found in the earth crust
Considering the importance in selenium in food consumed by Sri Lankan communities, and as no extended study has been reported on selenium in rice, the staple food of Sri Lankans, this study aims at deducing the selenium content in rice in order to find whether rice could supply most of the selenium required by Sri Lankans
The results of the present study (Table 2, Figure 1) showed that selenium content in paddy and soil obtained from Gampaha and Colombo districts were very low and below the limit of detection (0.5 μg kg-1)
Summary
Selenium is a trace metal found in the earth crust. It enters plant food through the soil and the contents depends on type of soil, climate conditions, geographical area and ability of plant to accumulate selenium. Selenium enters the human body through the consumption of food and water The foods, such as meat, seafood, milk, eggs, vegetables, green leaves and cereals were identified as good sources of selenium (Comb, 2001; De Silva et al, 2019). Selenium content in common food consumed by people of other countries have been reported but those by Sri Lankans is rare, except for a few studies reported from cereals and legumes (Buwaneka et al, 2014), complete dietary meals (Kiridena et al, 2017), green leaves (De Silva et al, 2019) and rice from three selected goiter incidence villages in Sri Lanka (Fordyce et al, 2000). In the study of Fordyce, et al, the selenium levels in water, soil, rice and human hair were determined and identified that a significant amount of Sri Lankan female population are under risk of selenium deficiency. Therein, the selenium levels were found to be 0.1135.238 g g-1 in soil, 0.06 – 0.24 g L-1 in water, 0.1-0.776 g g-1 in rice and 0.104 – 2.652
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