Considerations on the assessment of selenium status.

There is increasing interest in the techniques available for assessing Se status because of the accumulating evidence from laboratory animal experiments and human epidemiological studies that suggests a link between Se and the incidence of certain types of human cancer. In this paper, different methods of Se assessment are described, including analytical approaches (dietary intakes, tissue contents, and excreta levels), functional biochemical measurements (glutathione peroxidase activity), and functional physiological tests. The importance of considering interacting nutrients and other interacting substances is pointed out. Typical values of some Se status indicators reported in normal, deficient, and selenotic states are given.