Maize grain and soil surveys reveal suboptimal dietary selenium intake is widespread in Malawi
Selenium is an essential element in human diets but the risk of suboptimal intake increases where food choices are narrow. Here we show that suboptimal dietary intake (i.e. 20–30 mg Se person21 d21) is widespread in Malawi, based on a spatial integration of Se concentrations of maize (Zea mays L.) g...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Publishing Group
2011
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2557/ |
| _version_ | 1848790816110149632 |
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| author | Chilimba, Allan D. C. Young, Scott D. Black, Colin R. Rogerson, Katie B. Ander, E. Louise Watts, Michael J. Lammel, Joachim Broadley, Martin R. |
| author_facet | Chilimba, Allan D. C. Young, Scott D. Black, Colin R. Rogerson, Katie B. Ander, E. Louise Watts, Michael J. Lammel, Joachim Broadley, Martin R. |
| author_sort | Chilimba, Allan D. C. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Selenium is an essential element in human diets but the risk of suboptimal intake increases where food choices are narrow. Here we show that suboptimal dietary intake (i.e. 20–30 mg Se person21 d21) is widespread in Malawi, based on a spatial integration of Se concentrations of maize (Zea mays L.) grain and soil surveys for 88 field sites, representing 10 primary soil types and .75% of the national land area. The median maize grain Se concentration was 0.019 mg kg21 (range 0.005–0.533), a mean intake of
6.7 mg Se person21 d21 from maize flour based on national consumption patterns. Maize grain Se concentration was up to 10-fold higher in crops grown on soils with naturally high pH (.6.5) (Eutric Vertisols). Under these less acidic conditions, Se becomes considerably more available to plants due to the greater solubility of Se(IV) species and oxidation to Se(VI). |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:18:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-2557 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:18:37Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-25572020-05-04T16:31:01Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2557/ Maize grain and soil surveys reveal suboptimal dietary selenium intake is widespread in Malawi Chilimba, Allan D. C. Young, Scott D. Black, Colin R. Rogerson, Katie B. Ander, E. Louise Watts, Michael J. Lammel, Joachim Broadley, Martin R. Selenium is an essential element in human diets but the risk of suboptimal intake increases where food choices are narrow. Here we show that suboptimal dietary intake (i.e. 20–30 mg Se person21 d21) is widespread in Malawi, based on a spatial integration of Se concentrations of maize (Zea mays L.) grain and soil surveys for 88 field sites, representing 10 primary soil types and .75% of the national land area. The median maize grain Se concentration was 0.019 mg kg21 (range 0.005–0.533), a mean intake of 6.7 mg Se person21 d21 from maize flour based on national consumption patterns. Maize grain Se concentration was up to 10-fold higher in crops grown on soils with naturally high pH (.6.5) (Eutric Vertisols). Under these less acidic conditions, Se becomes considerably more available to plants due to the greater solubility of Se(IV) species and oxidation to Se(VI). Nature Publishing Group 2011-08-23 Article PeerReviewed Chilimba, Allan D. C., Young, Scott D., Black, Colin R., Rogerson, Katie B., Ander, E. Louise, Watts, Michael J., Lammel, Joachim and Broadley, Martin R. (2011) Maize grain and soil surveys reveal suboptimal dietary selenium intake is widespread in Malawi. Scientific Reports, 1 (72). ISSN 2045-2322 http://www.nature.com/srep/2011/110823/srep00072/full/srep00072.html doi:10.1038/srep00072 doi:10.1038/srep00072 |
| spellingShingle | Chilimba, Allan D. C. Young, Scott D. Black, Colin R. Rogerson, Katie B. Ander, E. Louise Watts, Michael J. Lammel, Joachim Broadley, Martin R. Maize grain and soil surveys reveal suboptimal dietary selenium intake is widespread in Malawi |
| title | Maize grain and soil surveys reveal suboptimal dietary selenium intake is widespread in Malawi |
| title_full | Maize grain and soil surveys reveal suboptimal dietary selenium intake is widespread in Malawi |
| title_fullStr | Maize grain and soil surveys reveal suboptimal dietary selenium intake is widespread in Malawi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maize grain and soil surveys reveal suboptimal dietary selenium intake is widespread in Malawi |
| title_short | Maize grain and soil surveys reveal suboptimal dietary selenium intake is widespread in Malawi |
| title_sort | maize grain and soil surveys reveal suboptimal dietary selenium intake is widespread in malawi |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2557/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2557/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2557/ |