Selenium in human milk and dietary selenium intake by Greeks

Abstract

Fluorimetric determination of selenium in colostrum, transitional and mature human milk gave the following concentrations (mean and standard deviation): 41 ± 16, 23 ± 6 and 17 ± 3 ng Se ml −1, respectively. The ranges for each kind of milk, especially for mature milk, were narrow. For all cases studied, the Se concentration in milk decreased with lactation time, reaching a plateau, at 17 ng Se ml −1, after 20 days. It is estimated that breast-fed-only babies in Greece receive ∼ 5–11 μm Se day −1 up to 6 month of age. From consumed food data it was estimated that adult Greeks receive 100 ± 6 μg Se day −1, in close agreement with our previously determined value of 110 μg Se day −1 estimated from food disappearance data.