Background. This study investigates the effects of Brazil nut ingestion on serum lipid profile in healthy volunteers. Methods. Ten healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. Each subject was tested 4 times in a randomized crossover in relation to the ingestion of different serving sizes of the Brazil nut: 0, 5, 20, or 50？g. At each treatment point, peripheral blood was drawn before and at 1, 3, 6, 9, 24, and 48 hours and 5 and 30 days. Blood samples were tested for total cholesterol, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c and LDL-c, resp.), triglycerides, selenium, aspartate and alanine aminotransferases, albumin, total protein, alkaline phosphatase, gamma GT, urea, creatinine, and C-reactive protein. Results. A significant increase of the plasma selenium levels was observed at 6 hours within the groups receiving the nuts. Serum LDL-c was significantly lower, whereas HDL-c was significantly higher 9 hours after the ingestion of 20 or 50？g of nuts. The biochemical parameters of liver and kidney function were not modified by ingestion of nuts. Conclusions. This study shows that the ingestion of a single serving of Brazil nut can acutely improve the serum lipid profile of healthy volunteers. 1. Background Selenium is an essential nutrient for human health [1], and its biological functions are mediated by the expression of about 20 selenoproteins which have selenocysteine at their active centers [2–4]. Some selenoproteins, for example, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), are important antioxidant enzymes [3, 5–7]. However, high acute selenium ingestion can be toxic to mammals, and epidemiological observations have suggested that dietary overexposure to selenium increases the prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases such as type 2 diabetes, a myotrophic lateral sclerosis, and neoplasias [3, 8, 9]. Selenoproteins can promote cardiovascular benefits possibly via their antioxidant properties. Some isoforms of GPx are known for being able to prevent the oxidative modification of lipids (including those found in lipoproteins), inhibit platelet aggregation, and modulate inflammation by reducing the peroxide tonus [1, 3, 10–12]. Additionally, some animals as well as epidemiological studies in humans have identified a putative protective role of some GPx isoforms against cardiovascular damage [1, 13, 14]. However, some large randomized trials investigating the effects of the administration of selenium containing supplements have failed to show a significant protective effect on cardiovascular disease and mortality
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