Soil-type influences human selenium status and underlies widespread selenium deficiency risks in Malawi
Selenium (Se) is an essential human micronutrient with critical roles in immune functioning and antioxidant defence. Estimates of dietary Se intakes and status are scarce for Africa although crop surveys indicate deficiency is probably widespread in Malawi. Here we show that Se deficiency is likely...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Publishing Group
2013
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2782/ |
| _version_ | 1848790874226425856 |
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| author | Hurst, Rachel Siyame, Edwin W.P. Young, Scott D. Chilimba, Allan D.C. Joy, Edward J.M. Black, Colin R. Ander, E. Louise Watts, Michael J. Chilima, Benson Gondwe, Jellita Kang’ombe, Dalitso Stein, Alexander J. Fairweather-Tait, Susan J. Gibson, Rosalind S. Kalimbira, Alexander A. Broadley, Martin R. |
| author_facet | Hurst, Rachel Siyame, Edwin W.P. Young, Scott D. Chilimba, Allan D.C. Joy, Edward J.M. Black, Colin R. Ander, E. Louise Watts, Michael J. Chilima, Benson Gondwe, Jellita Kang’ombe, Dalitso Stein, Alexander J. Fairweather-Tait, Susan J. Gibson, Rosalind S. Kalimbira, Alexander A. Broadley, Martin R. |
| author_sort | Hurst, Rachel |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Selenium (Se) is an essential human micronutrient with critical roles in immune functioning and antioxidant defence. Estimates of dietary Se intakes and status are scarce for Africa although crop surveys indicate deficiency is probably widespread in Malawi. Here we show that Se deficiency is likely endemic in Malawi based on the Se status of adults consuming food from contrasting soil types. These data are consistent with food balance sheets and composition tables revealing that >80% of the Malawi population is at risk of dietary Se inadequacy. Risk of dietary Se inadequacy is >60% in seven other countries in Southern Africa, and 22% across Africa as a whole. Given that most Malawi soils cannot supply sufficient Se to crops
for adequate human nutrition, the cost and benefits of interventions to alleviate Se deficiency should be
determined; for example, Se-enriched nitrogen fertilisers could be adopted as in Finland. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:19:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-2782 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:19:33Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-27822020-05-04T16:36:03Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2782/ Soil-type influences human selenium status and underlies widespread selenium deficiency risks in Malawi Hurst, Rachel Siyame, Edwin W.P. Young, Scott D. Chilimba, Allan D.C. Joy, Edward J.M. Black, Colin R. Ander, E. Louise Watts, Michael J. Chilima, Benson Gondwe, Jellita Kang’ombe, Dalitso Stein, Alexander J. Fairweather-Tait, Susan J. Gibson, Rosalind S. Kalimbira, Alexander A. Broadley, Martin R. Selenium (Se) is an essential human micronutrient with critical roles in immune functioning and antioxidant defence. Estimates of dietary Se intakes and status are scarce for Africa although crop surveys indicate deficiency is probably widespread in Malawi. Here we show that Se deficiency is likely endemic in Malawi based on the Se status of adults consuming food from contrasting soil types. These data are consistent with food balance sheets and composition tables revealing that >80% of the Malawi population is at risk of dietary Se inadequacy. Risk of dietary Se inadequacy is >60% in seven other countries in Southern Africa, and 22% across Africa as a whole. Given that most Malawi soils cannot supply sufficient Se to crops for adequate human nutrition, the cost and benefits of interventions to alleviate Se deficiency should be determined; for example, Se-enriched nitrogen fertilisers could be adopted as in Finland. Nature Publishing Group 2013-03-12 Article PeerReviewed Hurst, Rachel, Siyame, Edwin W.P., Young, Scott D., Chilimba, Allan D.C., Joy, Edward J.M., Black, Colin R., Ander, E. Louise, Watts, Michael J., Chilima, Benson, Gondwe, Jellita, Kang’ombe, Dalitso, Stein, Alexander J., Fairweather-Tait, Susan J., Gibson, Rosalind S., Kalimbira, Alexander A. and Broadley, Martin R. (2013) Soil-type influences human selenium status and underlies widespread selenium deficiency risks in Malawi. Scientific Reports, 3 (1425). ISSN 2045-2322 http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130312/srep01425/full/srep01425.html doi:10.1038/srep01425 doi:10.1038/srep01425 |
| spellingShingle | Hurst, Rachel Siyame, Edwin W.P. Young, Scott D. Chilimba, Allan D.C. Joy, Edward J.M. Black, Colin R. Ander, E. Louise Watts, Michael J. Chilima, Benson Gondwe, Jellita Kang’ombe, Dalitso Stein, Alexander J. Fairweather-Tait, Susan J. Gibson, Rosalind S. Kalimbira, Alexander A. Broadley, Martin R. Soil-type influences human selenium status and underlies widespread selenium deficiency risks in Malawi |
| title | Soil-type influences human selenium status and underlies widespread selenium deficiency risks in Malawi |
| title_full | Soil-type influences human selenium status and underlies widespread selenium deficiency risks in Malawi |
| title_fullStr | Soil-type influences human selenium status and underlies widespread selenium deficiency risks in Malawi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil-type influences human selenium status and underlies widespread selenium deficiency risks in Malawi |
| title_short | Soil-type influences human selenium status and underlies widespread selenium deficiency risks in Malawi |
| title_sort | soil-type influences human selenium status and underlies widespread selenium deficiency risks in malawi |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2782/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2782/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2782/ |