Low contribution of rice and vegetables to the daily intake of selenium in Japan.

The growing interest in the prevention role of selenium in certain degenerative diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease has fostered research on natural sources of selenium. In this research, total selenium concentrations in over 120 items of selected Japanese foods were determined. The selenium concentration was measured fluorometrically by measurement of the fluorescence of piazselenol resulting from the reaction of selenite with 2, 3-diaminonaphtalene. The selenium level in rice, which is the staple food consumed in Japan, is lower than the other countries. But the mean levels of selenium in meat and fish products are among the highest values reported in other countries. Although the numbers of samples of selected foods analyzed are small, the results describe the picture of the selenium level of Japanese foods.