Arsenic uptake and arsenic compounds in cultivated Agaricus bisporus

Total contents of arsenic and associated health risks in edible mushrooms, mushroom supplements and growth substrates from Galicia (NW Spain)

“…This previous study shows concentrations slightly lower than those obtained in this study for the species Agaricus bisporus (0.39 ± 0.06 mg As/kg dw). Soeroes et al (2005) investigated the accumulation of arsenic in Agaricus bisporus by analysing the total arsenic concentration in the substrate and the mushrooms. The As concentration of the ''control substrate'' was 3.8 ± 0.2 lg/g dm, which is in the range of no contaminated soil (1-40 mg As kg À1 ).…”

“…Mushrooms may play an important role in As cycling in the environment, both as decomposers and plant symbioses (Smith et al, 2007). Therefore, intensive research has been carried out to detect and explain the presence and distribution of many heavy metals in edible mushrooms (Alonso et al, 2000;Cocchi et al, 2006;García et al, 2013;Gonzálvez et al, 2009;Li et al, 2011;Melgar et al, 2009;Soeroes et al, 2005;Ouzouni et al, 2009).…”

“…In general, organic arsenic compounds are considered less toxic than inorganic arsenic. Still, they cannot be assumed as being completely benign (Sofuoglu et al, 2014); indeed, arsenic has been classified as Group 1 carcinogens (i.e., carcinogenic to humans) (ATSDR, 2007;Gonzálvez et al, 2009;HHS, 2011;Niedzielski et al, 2013;Soeroes et al, 2005). Determining the form of arsenic for mushrooms grown in unpolluted and polluted soils is an important issue for understanding the uptake, transfer, and accumulation processes in fruiting bodies.…”

“…Moreover, the inedible Sarcosphaera coronaria species has been measured to possess As levels of 2130 mg/kg dw (Larsen et al, 1998;Slekovec and Irgolic, 1996;Stijve et al, 1990). Lastly, cultivated Agaricus bisporus, which is for sale in Switzerland, was reported to contain As levels between 0.05 and 1.50 lg As/g dry mass (dm) (Soeroes et al, 2005).…”

Importance of low substrate arsenic content in mushroom cultivation and safety of final food product

“…The low level of As accumulation and high resistance of A. bisporus were previously indicated in the study by Soeroes et al [29] in which the mushrooms were grown with the addition of 1000 mg kg −1 of As(V). Surprisingly, the concentration of arsenobetaine was half the content found in the control, and the accumulation of As occurred mainly in the form of MMA …”