Selenium - ₃₄Se: biological information

Selenium is essential to mammals and higher plants, but only in small amounts. Selenium is said to stimulate the metabolism. It may help protest against free radical oxidants and against some heavy metals. Livestock grown in areas containing high amounts of selenium in the soil and in which a plant called Astragalus ("loco weed" in USA) is present are poisoned. This is because Astragalus concentrates selenium. On the other hand, sheep grown in areas containing deficient amounts of selenium in the soil develop "white muscle disease".

Levels in humans

The abundances of the elements in humans.

• Human abundance by weight: 50 ppb by weight
• Human abundance by atoms: 4 atoms relative to C = 1000000

How much selenium is in your body? Find out here.

You can use this form to calculate how much selenium your body contains. Enter your weight in either kilograms or pounds and click the "Calculate" button. You must enter a number, not text! Elements for which there are no data will always give a value of zero for the weight, no matter what you put in the weight box.

Hazards and Risks

Hazards and risks associated with selenium:

Selenium compounds are very toxic. They are carcinogenic and teratogenic. Livestock grown in areas containing high amounts of selenium in the soil and in which a plant called Astragalus ("loco weed" in USA) is present are poisoned. This is because Astragalus concentrates selenium. Sheep grown in areas containing deficient amounts of selenium in the soil develop "white muscle disease".

References

• J.E. Huheey, E.A. Keiter, and R.L. Keiter in Inorganic Chemistry : Principles of Structure and Reactivity, 4th edition, HarperCollins, New York, USA, 1993.
• S. Budavari (Ed.) in The Merck Index, 11th ed., Merck, USA, 1989.
• N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw in Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth, UK, 1997.