Maternal selenium status in Slovenia and its impact on the selenium concentration of umbilical cord serum and colostrum

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess serum selenium (Se) level of Slovenian mothers at birth and to elucidate its impact on the Se content o f umbilical cord serum of their newborns and of that of colostrum. Subjects and methods: In sera of 20 Slovenian mothers at delivery and in th e corresponding umbilical cord sera of their newborns Se concentrations wer e determined by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS). In addition Se levels in 10 healthy female blood donors were determined. C olostrum samples of 18 mothers collected on the second and third day post p artum were also investigated for their Se content. Results: Serum Se concentrations of mothers showed to be 62 +/- 15 mu g/l. Umbilical cord sera had 34 +/- 7 mu g/l: which amounts to 55% of the matern al content. Concentrations of Se in colostrum ranged from 17 to 48 mu g/l w ith a mean of 29 +/- 10 mu g/l. In the sera of female blood donors the mean was 66 +/- 15 mu g/l. A significant correlation (P < 0.002) between the Se content of maternal and umbilical sera could be established. No significan t correlation was found between maternal serum Se concentration and that of colostrum. Conclusions: Our data show that dietary Se intake for pregnant women in Slo venia is borderline. Descriptors: selenium; mothers; umbilical cord serum; colostrum; serum.