Selenium: A Case for Its Essentiality in Man

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
About 45 essential nutrients are needed for health maintenance, and among them are some 15 minerals or metals.1 Many of these minerals are required in small amounts in normal diets, but their specific role in human health is still a matter for exploration. A trace element of current interest is selenium, whose role in the nutrition of various animal species is now well established. A dietary deficiency of selenium causes muscular dystrophy in ruminants (sheep and cattle), pancreatic degeneration and exudative diathesis in poultry, and liver necrosis in rats.2 Indeed, recognition of the importance of selenium in poultry nutrition has . . .