Abstract
SINCE 1957, selenium has been recognized as an essential micronutrient for animals, but its exact biological function has remained uncertain. The metabolic role of selenium in animals seems to be linked with vitamin E and sulphur amino acids1–4. Selenium has a sparing effect on vitamin E, and delays the onset of deficiency syndromes. Likewise, vitamin E and sulphur amino acids partially protect against or delay the onset of several forms of selenium deficiency syndromes. Rotruck et al.5 proposed that selenium functions as an integral part of glutathione (GSH) peroxidase, an enzyme that reduces toxic lipid peroxides to hydroxy acids6–8. They found that a large proportion of the 75Se from rat erythrocytes labelled in vivo remained with the enzyme during extensive purification, and more recently, their studies with highly purified GSH peroxidase have indicated that it contains approximately 4 mol of Se per mol of enzyme9. Similar findings were reported by Flohé et al. for bovine erythrocyte GSH peroxidase10. To learn more about the nutritional relationship between selenium and GSH peroxidase, we performed studies that showed GSH peroxidase activity is proportional to dietary selenium, which provided additional evidence for the role of selenium in the function of GSH peroxidase.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Subcommittee on Selenium of Committee on Animal Nutrition of the Agricultural Board, Selenium in Nutrition (National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council, Washington DC, 1971).
Scott, M. L., Ann. N.Y., Acad. Sci., 138, 82 (1966).
Bieri, J. G., Nature, 184, 1148 (1959).
Levander, O. A., and Morris, V. C., J. Nutr., 100, 1111 (1970).
Rotruck, J., Pope, A., Ganther, H., Swanson, A., Hafeman, D., and Hoekstra, W., Science, 179, 588 (1973).
Little, C., and O'Brien, P. J., Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun., 31, 145 (1968).
Christophersen, B. O., Biochim. biophys. Acta, 164, 35 (1968).
Christophersen, B. O., Biochim. biophys. Acta, 176, 463 (1969).
Hoekstra, W. G., Hafeman, D., Oh, S. H., Sunde, R. A., and Ganther, H. E., Fed. Proc., 32, 885 (1973 abstr.).
Flohé, L., Günzler, W. A., and Schock, H. H., FEBS Lett., 32, 132 (1973).
Paglia, D. E., and Valentine, W. N., J. lab. clin. Med., 70, 158 (1967).
Chow, C. K., and Tappel, A. L., Lipids, 7, 518 (1972).
Chow, C. K., Reddy, K., and Tappel, A. L., J. Nutr., 103, 618 (1973).
Racker, E., Methods in Enzymology, 2, 722 (Academic Press, New York, 1955).
Langdon, R. G., Methods in Enzymology, 9, 126 (Academic Press, New York, 1966).
Miller, G. L., Anal. Chem., 31, 964 (1959).
Scott, M. L., and Noguchi, T., Fed. Proc., 32, 885 (1973 abstr.).
O'Dell, B. L., and Campbell, B. J., in Comprehensive Biochemistry (edit. by Florkin, M., and Stotz, E. H.), 21, 179 (Elsevier, New York, 1971).
Westerfeld, W. W., and Richert, D. A., J. boil. Chem., 192, 35 (1951).
Witting, L. A., and Horwitt, M. K., J. Nutr., 84, 351 (1964).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
SMITH, P., TAPPEL, A. & CHOW, C. Glutathione Peroxidase Activity as a Function of Dietary Selenomethionine. Nature 247, 392–393 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/247392a0
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/247392a0
This article is cited by
-
Comparison between the effects of selenomethionine and S-adenosylmethionine in preventing cholestasis-induced rat liver damage
Amino Acids (2019)
-
Biological functions and metabolic fate of vitamin E revisited
Journal of Biomedical Science (2004)
-
Selenium metabolism and bioavailability
Biological Trace Element Research (1996)
-
Selenium content of livers from sex-linked dwarf and normal broiler breeders
Biological Trace Element Research (1992)
-
Chronic hydrogen peroxide intake and peroxide metabolizing enzyme activities in some tissues of mice and rats
Experientia (1986)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.