Background: Selenium is one of the essential trace elements in various biological body functions. The main source of Selenium in the body is food, one of which is vegetables. Vegetables collect Selenium from the soil which is then converted into various chemical species of Selenium. Such species should be recognized since each has different biological activities. Objective: The aim of this review was to identify chemical species of Selenium in vegetables as well as the benefits and toxicity for the body. Methods: Reference searches were done in Pubmed and Google Scholar databases with the keywords Selenium speciation in plants, selenite, selenate, selenomethionine, selenocystine, and se-methylselenocysteine Results: The results of speciation in several types of vegetables showed that the chemical species of Selenium abundantly found in vegetables were selenomethionine (SeMet), selenocystine (SeCys2) and se-methylselenocysteine (Se-MeSeCys), gamma-glutamyl-Se-methyl-selenocysteine, and inorganic species. Both Selenium-enriched vegetables and the species contained therein have a variety of benefits for the body. However, excessive consumption can also cause toxic effects. Conclusion: The chemical species of Selenium in vegetables can be either organic or inorganic. Both types of species have different benefits and toxic effects. Keywords: benefits, chemical species, Selenium, toxicity, vegetable
Selenium (Se) is a trace mineral found in plants with a distinct sulfuric odor that is cardioprotective and reported to have low toxicity. West Java, Indonesia, has a variety of plants with a distinct odor that are consumed raw, such as jengkol (Archidendron pauciflorum). This study is conducted to determine the Se content of jengkol using the fluorometric method, where the jengkol extract is separated, and the Se content is detected using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), combined with fluorometry. Two fractions with the highest Se concentration (A and B) are found and characterized using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry to predict the organic Se content by comparing the results with those in the external literature. The Se content of fraction (A) is found to be selenomethionine (m/z 198), gamma glutamyl-methyl-selenocysteine-(GluMetSeCys; m/z 313), and the Se-sulfur (S) conjugate of cysteine-selenoglutathione (m/z 475). Furthermore, these compounds are docked on receptors involved in cardioprotection. The receptors are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K/AKT). The interaction of receptor and ligan that has the lowest binding energy of the docking simulation is measured with molecular dynamic simulation. MD is performed to observe bond stability and conformation based on root mean square deviation, root mean square fluctuation, radius gyration, and MM-PBSA parameters. The results of the MD simulation show that the stability of the complex organic Se compounds tested with the receptors is lower than that of the native ligand, while the binding energy is lower than that of the native ligand based on the MM-PSBA parameter. This indicates that the predicted organic Se in jengkol, i.e., gamma-GluMetSeCys to PPAR-γ, gamma-GluMetSeCys AKT/PI3K, and Se-S conjugate of cysteine-selenoglutathione to NF-κB, has the best interaction results and provides a cardioprotection effect, compared to the molecular interaction of the test ligands with the receptors.
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