Chemical forms of selenium in corn and rice grown in a high selenium area of China

The chemical forms of selenium were determined in maize grown near Yutangba Village and in rice grown near Haubei village, Exi Prefecture, Enshi county of Hubei Province, China. The maize sample contained 18 ppm and the rice samples an average of 3.6 ppm selenium. After they were ground to obtain a fine flour, this was acid hydrolyzed with hydrochloric acid in an inert atmosphere and the hydrolyzates chromatographed on columns of Dionex DC6A resin. The results indicate that the majority of the selenium is present as selenomethionine in both rice and corn.