Speciation of selenium compounds from high selenium broccoli is affected by the extracting solution.
The speciation of selenium compounds from high selenium broccoli (876 microg/g) depends on the extraction conditions. Twenty-seven extraction conditions were explored involving nine different buffering systems between pH 1 and pH 9. In nonbuffered extractions of broccoli, more than 40% of the spiked Se-methylselenocysteine was not recovered in the filtered solution. However, in buffered extractions, losses for Se-methylselenocysteine ranged from 10 to 20%. Mass balance indicated that approximately 30% of naturally occurring selenium in broccoli samples was volatilized and lost to the atmosphere when buffered extractions were made. Solid phase extractions indicated that the polarity of selenium compounds in solution was also dependent on the extracting solution. High-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer was used to show that selenium compounds extracted from broccoli reacted with the extracting solution. Compound identities were assigned by matching retention times to standards of selenite, selenate, methylseleninic acid, Se-methylselenocysteine, selenomethionine, and the selenonic acids of Se-methylselenocysteine and selenomethionine. Changes in speciation were analyte-, pH-, and buffer-dependent, but generally, a higher pH resulted in more highly oxidized selenium compounds. For valid conclusions to be drawn from the analytical data, the extraction conditions should match the conditions present in the matrix or be specified for a particular application such as a simulated gastrointestinal digestion.