Safety Assessment and Comparison of Sodium Selenite and Bioselenium Obtained from Yeast in Mice

Abstract EN

Detailed safety assessment of sodium selenite and bioselenium (bio-Se) was conducted and the results were compared and discussed for the purpose of assessing safety of bio-Se for use in food applications.

In this work, acute toxicity studies, micronucleus test, and sperm aberration study in mice, 30-day feeding test of mice, were conducted to evaluate the toxicity of bio-Se obtained from yeast with different fermentation time (transformative time: one month, three months, and six months), and the results were compared with that of inorganic Se (sodium selenite).

LD50 of sodium selenite was calculated to be 21.17 mg/kg.

LD50 of bio-Se obtained from yeast with different fermentation time was calculated to be 740.2 mg/kg, 915.3 mg/kg, and 1179.0 mg/kg, respectively.

In the genotoxicity test, bio-Se did not show cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of mice while sodium selenite at all dose groups was significantly different from the negative group.

In the 30-day subchronic oral toxicity study, sodium selenite may slow down the growth of the mice and lead to organic damage to some extent.

Bio-Se had facilitated effect towards the body weight of the mice and had no significant effect on the shape and function of the important organs of the mice.