Differential responses to selenomethionine supplementation by sex and genotype in healthy adults

Study answer

What this study found

SeMet supplementation produced dose-dependent increases in selenium body pools, including plasma selenium, urinary selenium, and buccal cell selenium, with responses plateauing by about 9 to 12 months. GPX3 activity and SEPP1 levels did not change significantly. Urinary selenium excretion increased more in women than in men, by 74% higher (P=0.001), and was also higher in participants with the GPX1 679 T/T genotype than in GPX1 C/C, by 59% higher (P<0.006). Overall, the most responsive biomarkers were those reflecting body selenium pools rather than plasma selenoproteins, and the authors…

Study & population

Randomized, four-arm, 12-month intervention in healthy selenium-adequate adults living near Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.

Intervention

Oral L-selenomethionine was given daily for 12 months in three active dose groups: 50 mg/d, 100 mg/d, and 200 mg/d.

Key limitation

The population was small, healthy, and selenium-adequate, which limits generalizability to deficient or clinical populations.

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Original abstract