DETERMINATION OF SELENIUM IN CEREALS, LEGUMES AND DRY FRUITS FROM SOUTHEASTERN SPAIN FOR CALCULATION OF DAILY DIETARY-INTAKE

Hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determin e selenium content in cereals, legumes and dry fruits from the coast o f the province of Granada (southeastern Spain). Accuracy was assured u sing both a NIST SRM 1572 and recovery experiments. The precision expr essed as relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) varied between 6.50% for seeds and 15.98% for bread. The highest selenium concentrations were found for dry fruits (294.6 ng/g), followed by legumes (111.8 ng/g), a nd the lowest for cereals (27.8 ng/g). Considering the average daily i ndividual consumption of these foods in Andalusia (southern Spain), th e daily dietary intake of selenium supplied by this source is 15.36 mu g/day for an adult. The content of total selenium in corn samples tak en from the zone is independent of both human and industrial activitie s (P > 0.05).