This study was aimed at determining the effects of selenium on the contents of vitamin C, amino acid, total water-soluble solids and tea polyphenol, and whether the antioxidant activity of selenium-enriched green tea is enhanced compared with regular green tea by linoleic acid oxidation and the lard oxidation method. The contents of selenium, vitamin C and tea polyphenol in green teas were greatly increased by foliar application of selenium-enriched fertilizer. No significant differences of the contents of vitamin C, amino acid and tea polyphenol were observed between green tea treated with sodium selenite and that without selenium. The selenium-enriched green tea exhibited significantly higher antioxidant activity than regular green tea, both in linoleic acid oxidation and in the lard oxidation system. These results suggest that the antioxidant activity of green tea is significantly enhanced by the combination of selenium and green tea constituents compared with that of regular green tea.

Atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry was used to determine the selenium (Se) concen-tration in 30 rice products of different species from Southern China. The Se level ranged from 0.015 to 0.0461μgg-1. Considering the average daily individual consumption of rice products in Southern China, the average dietary intake of Se supplied by this source is only 6-18μg day-1 for an adult. This low Se intake from rice products is mainly responsible for the low total Se intake of inhabitants in Southern China. Foliar spraying ofSe-enriched fertiliser or sodium selenite with 14-18g Seha-1 in the heading stage of rice growth increased the Se content to 0.178-0.421μgg1 in rice products. The concentration and amount ofSe-enriched fertiliser can be varied to achieve an optimum concentration of Se in rice products. The authors suggest that these Se-enriched rice products can contribute an increase in Se intake of 50-100μgday-1 on average if their Se concentration is controlled in the region of 0.15-0.50μg g-1.

To increase the selenium content of tea produced in areas of China poor in selenium, sodium seleite was added to tea garden soil or was sprayed onto tea leaves. Effects of selenium on green tea quality and the anino acid composition of tea protein were studied. Selenium-enriched green tea and poor selenium green tea were extracted with hot water (100℃) at a 1:50 ratio (w/v). The tea ldaf exracts were stored 30℃ for 12h, the colour changes of selenium-enriched green tea extact were more stable than with poor selenium green tea extract. The teas were packaged in polypropylene plastic bags and then stored at room temperature for 90d. The reduced ratio of vitamin C inselenium-enriched green tea was 21% compared with poor selenium fcontent green tea at 52%. These results demonstrated that selenium-enriched green tea produced a more desirable quality than poor selenium green tea. The total amino acid amounts, essential amino acid, methionine acid and cystine acid content of differetn selenium enriched green tea protein were increased by 8.3%-14.8%, 8.8%-14.8%, 6.0%-8.7%and 39%-96%, respectively, comparedwith the low selenium green tea. Green tea quality was raised by selenium tratment.

This research was to determine the effect of foliar application of selenium on increasing the antioxidant activity of tea harvested during the early spring tea producing season using a R,R-diphenyl-

Selenium fertilizer was foliar applied to determine the effects of antioxidant activity of seleniumenriched rice assessed by R,R-diphenyl-