Abstract
Although selenium is of great importance for the human body, in several world regions the intake of this essential trace element does not meet the dietary reference values. To achieve optimal intake, fortification of bread by using selenium-enriched flour has been put forward. Less is known on the potential effect of sourdough fermentation, which might be worth exploring as the biological effects of selenium strongly depend on its chemical form and sourdough fermentation is known to cause transformations of nutrients and phytochemicals, including the conversion of inorganic selenium into organic selenocompounds. Here we investigated the bio transformation of selenium by sourdough fermentation in a typical Italian flatbread (piadina) made with standard (control) or selenium-enriched flour. The different piadina were submitted to in vitro digestion, and the biological activity of the resulting hydrolysates was tested by means of cultured human liver cells exposed to an exogenous oxidative stress. The use of selenium-enriched flour and sourdough fermentation increased the total content of bioaccessible selenium in organic form, compared to conventional fermentation, and led to protective effects counteracting oxidative damage in cultured cells. The present study suggests that selenium-rich, sourdough-fermented bakery products show promise for improving human selenium nutrition whenever necessary.
Highlights
Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element critical to the normal physiology of a wide range of species, including humans [1]
Bioavailability is a key property to establish the value of a nutrient source, as it goes beyond the mere amount of the Bioavailability is nutrient present in the food and focuses on the proportion of the substance that, upon ingestion, is a key property to establish the value of a nutrient source, as it goes beyond the mere amount of the absorbed in a form that is physiologically useful
A good the natural food matrix—or the microstructure created during processing—leading to the release of the bioaccessibility derives from the results of several factors and critically depends on the disruption of nutrient that becomes available for absorption in the digestive tract
Summary
Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element critical to the normal physiology of a wide range of species, including humans [1]. The liver is the key site of human Se metabolism and synthesizes most of plasma selenoprotein P, thereby regulating whole-body Se transport and homeostasis. Se deficiency affects the expression and function of selenoproteins and has been associated to increased risk of infertility and prostate cancer in men, nephropathy, neurological diseases, dilated cardiomyopathy (Keshan disease), and endemic osteoarthropathy (Kashin–Beck disease) [3,4]. There is evidence that adequate and supranutritional Se intake, maintaining full expression of selenoproteins, may be beneficial with respect to the prevention of cancer. The relationship between selenium and cancer is complex and the effectiveness of dietary Se supplementation appears to depend on many factors, including
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