Methylselenized glucose: An efficient organoselenium fertilizer enhancing the selenium content in wheat grains

Selenium (Se) is an essential mineral element for human and other animals, and has been proved to im-prove plant growth and development and tolerance to different abiotic stresses. Selenium biofortification is considered to be a key strategy to increase the selenium content of edible parts of crops, which is helpful for improving human health. In this work, foliar fertilization with different concentrations and selenium forms was carried out on two wheat varieties at the flowering stage to compare the selenium enrichment effect of Na2SeO3, methylselenized selenocysteine (MSC), methylselenized glucose (MSG) and methylselenized lactide (MSL) in wheat grains. Surprisingly, MSG was found to be the preferable fertilizer. After the application of MSG, the highest selenium content in wheat gains reached 6 mg/kg in this exper-iment, and the average selenium content was 2-4 times versus that of Na2SeO3 application. Since MSG has high utilization rate and is easily available at relatively low cost, it can be employed as a potential selenium source for selenium biofortification to enhance the added value of agricultural industry. (c) 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Automated summary

Selenium is an essential mineral element that improves plant growth and tolerance to abiotic stresses. Selenium biofortification is a key strategy to increase the selenium content in crops for human health improvement. In this study, foliar fertilization with different selenium forms was conducted on wheat, and methylselenized glucose (MSG) was found to be the most effective fertilizer, significantly increasing the selenium content in wheat grains compared to Na2SeO3 application. Due to its high utilization rate and low cost, MSG can be a potential selenium source for biofortification.