Selenium salts and chromosome damage.

Sodium selenite and sodium selenate, fed by gavaging to age-matched male Swiss albino mice and observed after 24 h following a colchicine-fixative-air drying-Giemsa schedule, were found to induce chromosome breaks and spindle disturbances in bone marrow cells. The four concentrations used were fractions of LD50 and the effects were directly proportionate to the concentration of the chemical. Sodium selenite induced a slightly higher frequency of chromosomal aberrations than sodium selenate.