Se speciation in Fresh Cheese made with Salicornia salt: an emergent functional food

High Na consumption and insufficient potassium (K) intake contribute to high blood pressure and to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. On the other hand, Selenium (Se) shortage in diets is caused by low Se presence in soils and consequently in vegetables, currently affecting 15% of the world's population. Several selenoproteins have been identified with key roles in antioxidant systems, hormone regulation, immunology, male fertility, resistance to viral infections, and cancer prevention. The cultivation of Salicornia plants biofortified with Se allow us to obtain a functional food rich in Se and K but low in Na. Moreover, Salicornia has increased its popularity as food ingredient because of its high nutritional value and its distinctive salty flavour even though it has a low Na content. The aim of our study is to biofortify Salicornia plants via foliar application of a mixture of selenite and selenate to produce a Se-enriched salt low in Na that can help to overcome human Se deficiency and ameliorate or prevent different health problems. We do not want to analyse only the plant, but we want to make a fresh cheese using this Se-biofortified salt to obtain a cheese rich in Se and low in Na but with a salty taste. To know if this cheese is useful as a supplement of Se in the diet, we need to know in what chemical form Se is accumulated in the shoots and in the cheeses using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at CLAESS beamline. The most bioavailable forms of Se are the organic ones such as Se-amino acids that are produced by the plants when biofortifying them with inorganic forms of Se. The result will allow us to optimize the methodology to bring Se-functionalized Salicornia-based products into the market to overcome the Se-deficiency.