Sodium Selinite

Sodium selenite is the inorganic compound with the formula Na₂SeO₃. This salt is a colourless solid. The pentahydrate Na₂SeO₃(H₂O)₅ is the most common water-soluble selenium compound.

Applications[edit]

Together with the related barium and zinc selenites, sodium selenite is mainly used in the manufacture of colorless glass. The pink color imparted by these selenites cancels out the green color imparted by iron impurities.^[3]

Because selenium is an essential element, sodium selenite is an ingredient in dietary supplements such as multi-vitamin/mineral products, but supplements that provide only selenium use L-selenomethionine or a selenium-enriched yeast.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved a selenium supplement to animal diets; the most common form is sodium selenite for pet foods. According to one article, “not much was known about which selenium compounds to approve for use in animal feeds when the decisions were made back in the 1970s .. At the time the regulatory action was taken, only the inorganic selenium salts (sodium selenite and sodium selenate) were available at a cost permitting their use in animal feed.” ^[4]

Sodium selenite has been proposed as an effective suicide agent.^[5]