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Review
. 2022 Feb 2:13:804368.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.804368. eCollection 2022.

Seleno-Amino Acids in Vegetables: A Review of Their Forms and Metabolism

Jiangtao Hu  1 , Zheng Wang  1 , Li Zhang  1 , Jie Peng  1 , Tao Huang  1 , Xiao Yang  1 , Byoung Ryong Jeong  2   3   4 , Qichang Yang  1
Affiliations
Review

Seleno-Amino Acids in Vegetables: A Review of Their Forms and Metabolism

Jiangtao Hu et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

Seleno-amino acids are safe, health-promoting compounds for humans. Numerous studies have focused on the forms and metabolism of seleno-amino acids in vegetables. Based on research progress on seleno-amino acids, we provide insights into the production of selenium-enriched vegetables with high seleno-amino acids contents. To ensure safe and effective intake of selenium, several issues need to be addressed, including (1) how to improve the accumulation of seleno-amino acids and (2) how to control the total selenium and seleno-amino acids contents in vegetables. The combined use of plant factories with artificial lighting and multiple analytical technologies may help to resolve these issues. Moreover, we propose a Precise Control of Selenium Content production system, which has the potential to produce vegetables with specified amounts of selenium and high proportions of seleno-amino acids.

Keywords: mushrooms; plant factory; precise control; selenium metabolism; seleno-amino acids; vegetables.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structures of seleno-amino acids commonly found in vegetables. (A) SeMet; (B) SeCys; (C) MeSeCys; and (D) γ-Glu-MeSeCys.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Metabolic fate of selenium in vegetables. Se-AAs, selenate, selenite, and Se nanoparticles are absorbed by vegetables via amino acid transporters, sulfate transporters, phosphate transporters, and aquaporins, respectively. Then, these selenium forms were assimilated into various selenium metabolites, such as adenosine phosphoselenate, SeCys, γ-glutamyl-selenocysteine, γ-Glu-MeSeCys, MeSeCys, Se-cystathionine, Se-homocysteine, SeMet, Se-methylselenomethionine, dimethyldiselenide, dimethylselenide, and selenoproteins. AATs, amino acid transporters; APs, aquaporins; PTs, phosphate transporters; and STs, sulfate transporters. SeO32−, Selenite; APSe2−, adenosine phosphoselenate; SeO42−, selenate; Se NPs, Se nanoparticles; γ-Glu-SeCys, γ-glutamyl-selenocysteine; MeSeMet, Se-methylselenomethionine; DMDSe, dimethyldiselenide; and DMSe, dimethylselenide.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Transgenic approaches to regulate seleno-amino acids in plants. (A) Production of methylated and/or volatile forms; (B) Decomposition of SeCys; and (C) Reduction of misincorporation. DMDSe, dimethyl diselenide; DMSe, dimethyl selenide; MeSeCys, Se-methylselenocysteine; and SeCys, selenocysteine.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Key issues in research of seleno-amino acids in vegetables and (B) the proposed strategies to address these issues. HPLC-ICP-MS, high-performance liquid chromatography in conjunction with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Se-AAs, seleno-amino acids; and Se, selenium.
Figure 5
Figure 5
A Precise Control of Selenium Content (PCSC) production system for precise control of the forms and selenium contents in vegetables.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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