Review Article Volume 14 Issue 1 - April 2018za DOI: 10.19080/CTBEB.2018.14.555876 Curr Trends Biomedical Eng & Biosci Copyright © All rights are reserved by MJ Adeniyi Nigeria and the Selenium Micronutrient: A Review MJ Adeniyi* and FO Agoreyo Department of Physiology, University of Benin, Nigeria Submission: January 19, 2018; Published: April 13, 2018 *Corresponding author: MJ Adeniyi, Department of Physiology, University of Benin, Benin-city, Nigeria, Tel: Email: Introduction Nutrition deals with food substances and their effects on health [1]. Food substances including non-energy yielding substances like selenium are required for metabolisms [2] (Figure 1). Selenium is an element of the Periodic Table and it is present in soil, water, rock and food. As far as Nigeria is concerned, studies revealed that the soil concentrations of the mineral vary across the six geopolitical zones of the country. This results in variation in concentration of the mineral in plant and animal foods consumed by Nigerians Rayman [3] and Combs [4] and difference in selenium level in body fluid and tissues [5,6]. Curr Trends Biomedical Eng & Biosci 14(1): CTBEB.MS.ID.555876 (2018) 001 Abstract Local studies have documented the contributions of minerals to the health status of mammals. Selenium (Se) is an example of such minerals. It is essential for the activation and functioning of enzymes. In Nigeria, the mineral has been reported to be present in water, foods and soils. While the soil selenium concentrations determine selenium levels in foods, difference in food concentrations of the mineral atones for the variations in the plasma and tissue selenium level across the geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Areas in Nigeria prone to erosion could be associated with inadequate soil selenium levels and this might lead to low availability of the mineral in the foods consumed by animals and humans. The plasma selenium levels in Nigerians may vary from as low as 0.006mg/L to as high as 0.3279±0.0546mg/L depending on the geographical factors and analytical methods employed. Studies in which the physiological effects of selenium supplementations were investigated revealed an improvement in CD4 counts in HIV positive human subjects, reduction in rats’ susceptibility to trypanosomiasis, improvement in reproductive function, acceleration of ulcer healing in animal model of experimental gastric ulcer and mitigation of the adverse effects in animal model of gastric ulcer. Low plasma selenium levels are associated with HIV infection, fertility problems, postpartum cardiomyopathy and diabetes mellitus. Therefore, there is growing need for dietary selenium supplementations in Nigeria. Keywords: Selenium; Supplementations; Nigeria; Geopolitical; Nigerian; Mineral Figure 1: Map of Nigeria [72].