Effect of dietary sodium nitroprusside as a source of cyanide on the selenium status of chicks given diets of varying selenium concentration.
1. The interaction between dietary cyanide, given in the form of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), and selenium has been studied in two experiments with growing chicks from 14 to 38 d of age. 2. In experiment 1, dietary selenium at 10 mg Se/kg reduced growth, food intake and efficiency of utilisation, and increased relative liver size and selenium content. All of these effects were eliminated by the addition of 0.1 g SNP/kg except for liver selenium content, which progressively declined towards control values as SNP was increased to 0.4 g/kg in increments of 0.1 g/kg. At 0.3 g SNP/kg, cyanide toxicity, as judged by decreased growth, reached significance. 3. In experiment 2, similar effects were observed with selenium at 10 mg Se/kg and SNP at 0.3 g/kg, but selenium deficiency was not evident from growth indicators when selenium supplementation of the diet was omitted completely, nor did these indicators suggest that deficiency was induced by cyanide. 4. In both experiments, plasma and liver glutathione peroxidase activity reflected the dietary selenium content. There was an interaction with dietary SNP content. With selenium intake at a toxic level, SNP increased enzyme activity, further evidence of alleviation of selenium toxicity, but when selenium intake was low and normal, SNP decreased activity in liver, an indication that cyanide could induce deficiency. 5. A possible mechanism for alleviation of selenium toxicity is proposed.