Biomass effects and selenium accumulation in sprouts of three vegetable species grown in selenium-enriched conditions.

摘要

Foods that can aid in the prevention of disease are of increasing interest. Some vegetables experimentally enriched with Se accumulate Se as Se-methylselenocysteine (MeSeCys), a non-protein amino acid implicated with superior chemopreventive properties. Effects of increasing concn. of Se on the gain in biomass (GIB) and total Se concn. of broccoli, mung bean and onion (Red creole) sprouts were evaluated against S as control. Trial 1 included treatments of selenate-Se and sulfate-S at levels of 127 and 1270 mumol l--1. Trial 2 used additional treatments of 635 mumol l--1 for broccoli and mung beans and 12 700 mumol l--1 for onion. Sprouts were harvested at 3 and 5 days for broccoli and mung bean and at 5 and 7 days for onion. Broccoli was the most sensitive to Se, showing approx. 45% GIB reduction at 635 muM Se. Mung bean GIB was 23% lower at 1270 muM Se and onion GIB showed a small 16% reduction at 12 700 muM Se, suggesting high Se tolerance. Data clearly demonstrated species variation in tolerance to and uptake of Se during sprout production. The lowest treatment level, 127 muM selenate-Se, resulted in Se concn. that exceeded the level desirable for fresh sprout consumption, suggesting that Se-biofortified sprout production for fresh consumption could be easily accomplished with little effect on growth rate or yield.