Sodium selenate

How it’s made and used

• How the body handles selenium³

  In people, sodium selenate from a supplement was mostly peed out unchanged within a day.

• How much selenium the body keeps⁴

  In men, the body held onto selenium from fish better than from sodium selenate.

• Selenium levels in the body⁵

  In women given sodium selenate, more selenium came out in urine and blood levels rose less than with selenium yeast.

• Selenium in preterm babies⁶

  In preterm infants, selenate-fortified formula raised selenium levels in their blood more than unfortified formula did.

• Blood selenium levels⁷

  Selenate raised selenium in blood plasma but not in red cells, unlike selenium yeast.

• Liver gene activity in rats⁸

  In rats, sodium selenate changed far more liver genes than sodium selenite did.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.