Phytoglycogen Nanoparticle Delivery System for Inorganic Selenium Reduces Cytotoxicity without Impairing Selenium Bioavailability.

Purpose: Selenium is an essential trace element that supports animal health through the antioxidant defense system by protecting cells from oxidative-related damage. Using inorganic selenium species, such as sodium selenite (Na Sel), as a food supplement is cost-effective; however, its limitation as a nutritional supplement is its cytotoxicity. One strategy to mitigate this problem is by delivering inorganic selenium using a nanoparticle delivery system (SeNP).

Methods: Rainbow trout intestinal epithelial cells, bovine turbinate cells and bovine intestinal myofibroblasts were treated with soluble Na Sel or SeNPs. Two SeNP formulations were tested; SeNP-Ionic where inorganic selenium was ionically bound to cationic phytoglycogen (PhG) NPs, and SeNP-Covalent, where inorganic selenium was covalently bound to PhG NPs. Selenium-induced cytotoxicity along with selenium bioavailability were measured.

Results: SeNPs (SeNP-Ionic or SeNP-Covalent) substantially reduced cytotoxicity in all cell types examined compared to similar doses of soluble inorganic selenium. The SeNP formulations did not affect selenium bioavailability, as selenium-induced glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and GPx1 transcript levels were similarly elevated whether cells were treated with soluble Na Sel or SeNPs. This was the case for all three cell types tested.

Conclusion: Nanoparticle-assisted inorganic selenium delivery, which demonstrated equal bioavailability without causing deleterious cytotoxic side effects, has potential applications for safely supplementing animal diets with inorganic selenium at what are usually toxic doses.