抄録
Although selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te) are non-essential elements in plants, they are utilized in metabolic pathways to form the metalloid-containing compounds having carbon-metalloid covalent bond(s) (organic seleno/tellurometabolites). Therefore, it is necessary to identify seleno/tellurocompounds to determine the metabolic pathway of Se and Te, and understand the beneficial or toxicological effects of these compounds. Many literatures showed that the complementary use of HPLC-ICP-MS and HPLC-ESI (APCI)-MS/MS is a powerful tool for the speciation and identification of these metabolites. In this review, our recent works on the complementary use of ICP-MS, ESI-MS/MS and NMR from the viewpoint of identification of unknown seleno/tellurometabolites in plant samples were summarized. In particular, (1) speciation of sulfur (S) and Se-containing amino acids in Allium plants, (2) identification of a novel selenocompound in selenized Japanese pungent radish, (3) evaluation of function and translation efficacy of selenomethionine (SeMet)-containing proteins, (4) identification of SeMet-metabolites in wheat germ extracts, and (5) evaluation of Te metabolism in the Se-accumulating plant were mentioned.
