Abstract: A noninvasive ²³Na NMR technique was used to measure the intracellular sodium concentration of rat erythrocytes taken from animals fed on normal or low selenium content grain. The results showed that (1) selenium deficiency led to the sodium concentration increase (2) the red cells with higher sodium concentration were less resistant to temperature-induced hemolysis than the normal ones and (3) adding Na₂SeO₃ to low selenium grain could restore the sodium concentration of the cells to normal level and also lower the hymolysis rate.

Key words: NMR, Selenium, Erythrocyte, Rat