Enhanced glutathione peroxidases (GPx) activity in young barley seedlings enriched with selenium

Abstract

To assess whether young barley seedlings could be used as a selenium-enriched food material, a field experiment was carried out. Barley seeds were soaked in aqueous solutions at 20°C for 24 h. The solutions contained selenium in the form of sodium selenite and were at 0, 10, 20 and 30 μg/ml, respectively. Then the seeds were sowed in a non-selenium-fertilized field. Seedlings were harvested 2, 3, 4, and 5 weeks after sowing. Results show that selenium treatment did not affect (P>0.05) the biomass yield, height and stem diameter of young barley seedlings but significantly increased (P<0.05) selenium content and enhanced chlorophyll accumulation and glutathione peroxidases (GPx) activity in young barley seedlings. This study indicates that the method of soaking seeds in selenium solutions was feasible in enhancing selenium content in young barley seedlings which could be used as a  seleniumenriched food material.

Key words: Selenium, young barley seedlings, growth, chlorophyll, glutathione peroxidases.