Chronic Selenium Poisoning of Rats as Influenced by Dietary Protein

Abstract

Earlier observations on young white rats dealing with the protective action of high levels of casein against chronic selenium poisoning have been confirmed. Good growth results when as much as 35 p.p.m. of selenium, as sodium selenite, is incorporated in a diet containing 30% of casein. Only one rat, a female, died during the 8-week experimental period. The ability of lactalbumin, gelatin, and edestin to render similar protective action to rats against ingested selenium (35 p.p.m.) has been tested. These proteins were all superimposed on a basal level of 6% casein in amounts sufficient to give 30% of protein in the diets. Lactalbumin tends, as does casein, to counteract the toxic effects of dietary selenium, but it does not give as consistently good results as does casein. Edestin and gelatin, when fed at high levels in seleniferous diets, exert no detoxifying action and are in all respects comparable to a diet containing only 6% of casein. Rats on these diets failed to grow and died in most cases within 32 days. None of these animals lived beyond 53 days. Pathological changes have been described.