TRACE ELEMENTS IN MEDICINE (MOSCOW)
2015. 16(3): 5053 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS

HIGH HAIR SELENIUM AS AN INDICATOR OF MOTHER TO FETUS PLACENTAL TRANSFER FROM BRAZIL NUTS (BERTHOLLETIA EXCELSA)

B. Momčilović 1*, J. Prejac2, V. Višnjević1, S. Brundić1, A.A. Skalny3, N. Mimica4

1 Institute for Research and Development of the Sustainable Eco Systems, Srebrnjak 59, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
2 ANO Center for Biotic Medicine, Zemlyanoi val 46, Moscow, 105064, Russia
3 University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
4 Klinika za psihijatriju Vrapče, Bolnička cesta 32, 10 090 Zagreb, Croatia

DOI: 10.19112/2413-6174-2015-16-3-50-53 

ABSTRACT. A pregnant woman in the last trimester of gestation incidentally consumed a package of Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa) over one week period. Two months after delivery of a healthy baby daughter, the hair multielement profile analysis revealed a grossly increased hair selenium concentrations of 2.70 in the mother and 9.74 µg∙g1 in the daughter. Adequate hair Se concentration of a Croatian women population range 0.08  0.63 µg∙g1. There is a substantial capacity of gastrointestinal absorption and trans-placental transfer of dietary Se from a pregnant mother to the fetus and Se accumulation in the hair of both mother and fetus.

KEYWORDS: Brazil nuts, hair Se, pregnancy, lactation, transplacental Se transfer, mother, fetus/infant.