Studies on human dietary requirements and safe range of dietary intakes of selenium in China and their application in the prevention of related endemic diseases.

The human dietary selenium requirement in China has been estimated by various methods. The minimum dietary selenium requirement for the prevention of Keshan disease (KD) was found to be around 17 micrograms/d. On the other hand, an intake of 40 micrograms/d is required to maintain the plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity at plateau. Hence 40 micrograms/d is considered as the adequate dietary selenium requirement. Studies conducted in a chronic selenosis area indicate that the toxic dietary selenium intake (adverse effect level), which would maintain the characteristic fingernail changes, was approximately 1600 micrograms/d. The mean value of dietary selenium intakes, which enabled the five patients to recover from fingernail lesions, was found to be 819 +/- 126 micrograms/d. At a 95% confidence limit, the lower limit is around 600 micrograms/d. Therefore, 600 and 400 micrograms/d were suggested as the individual daily maximum safe selenium intake and the safe dietary selenium intake, respectively. The results were used in the prevention of Se-related endemic KD and Kashin-Beck disease (KBD).