Abstract
The multi-elemental composition of 4 edible wild-growing mushroom species that commonly occur in Polish forests was compared to 13 cultivated mushroom species available in trade. A considerable variation in the macroelements content was revealed with cultivated species containing higher amounts of macroelements. The mean content of B, Co, Cr, Fe, Pb, Pr, Pt, Sb, Sm, Sr, Te, and Tm was higher in cultivated mushroom species, while the opposite was noted for Ba, Cd, Cu, Hg, La, Mo, Sc, and Zn. Selected cultivated forms exhibited increased content of Al (F. velutipes), As (H. marmoreus, F. velutipes), Ni (P. ostreatus, A. polytricha, H. marmoreus), and Pb (P. ostreatus, A. polytricha, F. velupites, and L. edodes). Wild-growing species, B. boletus, I. badia, and S. bovinus contained high Hg levels, close to or exceeding tolerable intakes. Compared to cultivated mushrooms, they also generally revealed a significantly increased content of Al (with the highest content in B. edulis and I. badia), As and Cd (with the highest content in B. edulis and S. bovinus in both cases). In turn, the cultivated mushrooms were characterized by a higher content of Ni (particularly in A. bisporus) and Pb (with the highest content in P. eryngii). The exposure risks may, however, differ between wild and cultivated mushrooms since the former are consumed seasonally (although in some regions at a high level), while the latter are available throughout the year. Both cultivated and wild-growing mushrooms were found to be a poor source of Ca and Mg, and only a supplemental source of K, Cu, Fe, and Zn in the human diet. These results suggest that mushrooms collected from the wild or cultivated, should be consumed sparingly. The study advocates for more strict monitoring measures of the content of toxic metals/metalloids in mushrooms distributed as food, preferentially through the establishment of maximum allowance levels not limited only to a few elements and mushroom species.
Highlights
Materials and methodsThere is considerable interest in mushrooms due to their taste, nutritional value as well as potential risks associated with their consumption [1,2,3,4]
The fruit bodies of T. fuciformis and A. bisporus (1870 and 36,300 mg kg−1, respectively) were most enriched with Ca and K The highest content of Mg was determined in A. polytricha and P. citrinopileatus (1720 and 1610 mg kg−1, respectively), while Na and S, were most abundant in P. eryngii and H. mormoreus, (428 and 5270 mg kg−1, respectively)
It is clear that wild-growing mushroom species create a separate group, despite significantly higher contents of K in B. edulis, L. scabrum and S. bovinus than those determined for the majority of cultivated mushroom species (Table 2, Fig. 1a)
Summary
Materials and methodsThere is considerable interest in mushrooms due to their taste, nutritional value as well as potential risks associated with their consumption [1,2,3,4]. Attention has been directed to selected or all detectable elements in fruiting bodies, depending on the site of their collection, species, and availability [6, 7]. These studies have included the analysis of both cultivated and wild-growing mushroom species, the latter being divided into woodgrowing and aboveground species [8, 9]. The assessment of the content, especially of trace elements with detrimental health effects such as Ag, As, Be, Cd, Pb or Tl, is highly relevant in the case of human consumption [12]
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