Functional Biomarkers for the Selenium Status in a Human Nutritional Intervention Study

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
• Human Physiology

Background:

• German soils are selenium-poor, potentially leading to inadequate dietary selenium intake.
• Low selenium status is linked to increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, including inactivity and poor diet.
• Biomarkers are crucial for assessing selenium status and physiological requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a lifestyle intervention (diet and exercise) on selenium status in a German cohort.
• To assess the suitability of serum selenium, GPx activity, and selenoprotein P as indicators of selenium status.
• To explore the relationship between selenium biomarkers and CVD risk factors.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of serum total selenium, GPx activity, and selenoprotein P in 51 participants over 40 weeks.
• Implementation of a cardio-protective diet with structured menu plans and physical exercise.
• Statistical correlation analysis between selenium biomarkers and total selenium concentration.

Main Results:

• Intervention led to fluctuations in serum selenium, with decreases in initially adequate participants.
• Significant increases in GPx activity and selenoprotein P were observed post-intervention.
• Selenoprotein P showed a moderate positive correlation with total selenium (r=0.467), while GPx activity showed a weak correlation (r=0.186).

Conclusions:

• The lifestyle intervention successfully modulated selenium status indicators.
• Selenoprotein P is a more reliable indicator of selenium status than GPx activity in this context.
• GPx activity is influenced by factors beyond total selenium availability, limiting its use as a sole status marker.