Abstract:

A novel method for the determination of inorganic, organic and total selenium in Se-enriched grains was
developed using hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) after anhydrous ethanol extraction.
The instrumental parameters were optimized. The results showed that selenium was found to exist mainly in the form of
organic Se compounds in selenium-enriched grains in the range of 63.02%–95.10% relative to total Se amount. Among the
selenium-enriched grains investigated, yellow corn was the richest in organic Se, accounting for 95.10% of total Se amount.
The detection limit (3σ) of the proposed method was 0.01 μg/L. Recoveries ranged from 97.31% to 103.53% for total Se and
96.10% to 105.45% for inorganic Se. This method has the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity and high recovery
rate, and is suitable for the determination of organic selenium and inorganic selenium in selenium-enriched grains.

Key words: hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS), organic selenium, inorganic selenium, selenium-enriched grains