Distribution and speciation of selenium in Lecythis ollaria plant

Selenium has been determined in different parts of the Lecythis ollaria (LO) plant (Venezuela) and the determination of its speciation has been achieved in fruit seeds. The study has been performed using different analytical techniques including inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry (DPCSV), instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS). Different parts of the plant (leaves, bark, capsules and seeds) were examined as well as the soil where LO was growing. Among different considered parts, seeds show the highest content in selenium (≅5 g kg −1 ) which is dependent on the maturation extent of the fruit. In seeds, about half of the total selenium content is soluble in water while the remaining is involved in protein structure. In the aqueous fraction, the prevailing form of selenium appears to be seleno-cystathionine with much lower amounts of Se(VI) and Se(IV).