JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground
HTML
<table id="mat-table">
<tr>
<td>option 1</td>
<td>desc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>option 2</td>
<td>desc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>option 3</td>
<td>desc</td>
</tr>
</table>
<select class="mat">
<option value="0">mat 1</option>
</select>
JavaScript
$('#mat-table td:first-child').each(function(i) {
var $option = $('<option>', { value: i }).text(this.textContent);
$('.mat').append($option);
});