Lithiation of white button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) using lithium-fortified substrate: effect of fortification levels on Li uptake and on other trace elements

Abstract

High doses of lithium salts are used for the treatment or prevention of episodes of mania in bipolar disorder, but the medication is rapidly excreted and also shows side effects. Li may also be beneficial in people with mood disorders. Nutritionally, popular foods such as wild and cultivated mushrooms have low Li contents. This study evaluated the Li enrichment of white Agaricus bisporus mushrooms using Li2CO3 solutions to fortify the commercial growing substrate at various concentrations from 1.0 to 500 mg kg−1 dry weight (dw). Fortification of up to 100 mg kg−1 dw resulted in a significant (p < 0.01) dose-dependent increase in the accumulation of Li in mushroom, but the highest fortification level was found to be detrimental to fruitification. The median values of Li in fortified mushrooms corresponded to the fortification levels, increasing from 0.49 to 17 mg kg−1 dw relative to the background concentration of 0.056 mg kg−1 dw (control substrate contained 0.10 mg kg−1 dw). The potential for Li uptake in fruiting bodies was found to decrease at higher levels of fortification, with saturation occurring at 100 mg kg−1. Resulting lithiated mushrooms were up to 300-fold richer in Li content than specimens grown on control substrate. The fortification showed some effects on the uptake of other trace minerals, but concentrations of co-accumulated Ag, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, Tl, U, V and Zn were similar or lower than values reported in the literature for commercial A. bisporus. These lithiated mushrooms could be considered as a pro-medicinal alternative to treatments that use Li salts. Graphical abstract

In vitro gastrointestinal digestion and bioavailability of lithium from processed lithiated and nonlithiated white Agaricus bisporus mushrooms

“…Additionally, the instrument was calibrated for each analytical cycle. The quality control parameters obtained from these measurements were found to be suitable for the reliable measurement of Li, as reported earlier 8,19 The limit of detection (LOD) achieved for Li in the gastric and gastrointestinal digests was 0.02 μg L −1 . 19 ± 1 to 21 ± 2%, respectively (Table 1).…”

“…The lithiated and nonlithiated A. bisporus mushrooms used in this study were obtained from a cultivation experiment. 19 Lithiation was achieved by raising mushrooms in Li 2 CO 3 fortified (at two different compost fortification levels of 50 and 100 mg kg −1 compost dw) substrate. The concentration of Li in the caps and stipes of nonlithiated mushrooms was 0.48 and 0.49 mg kg −1 dw (means), respectively.…”

“…17,18 This study aimed to assess the in vitro release and possible bioavailability of Li from both lithiated and nonlithiated (control) button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) that were subjected to certain modes of culinary processing. 9,19 The BARGE (the Bioaccessibility Research Group of Europe) method-used for the analysis of the bioavailability of metallic elements of processed mushroom samples-consists of two consecutive processes, gastric and intestinal digestion. 20,21 This in vitro physiologically based ingestion bioaccessibility method gives comparable results to the in vivo relative bioavailability studies in animal models.…”

Nutritional and Other Trace Elements and Their Associations in Raw King Bolete Mushrooms, Boletus edulis

“…The median values of the Cs, Li, and Rb concentrations in the whole fruiting bodies were 1.8, 0.075, and 190 mg kg −1 dw, respectively ( Table 1 ). All three of these elements are not considered as essential for fungi or human nutrition, while debate on the essential nature of Li is ongoing [ 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 ]. Typical occurrences of Li in different foods including many mushrooms and intakes are low [ 33 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ]; however, Li is a widely used metal in industrial and domestic appliances.…”

“…All three of these elements are not considered as essential for fungi or human nutrition, while debate on the essential nature of Li is ongoing [ 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 ]. Typical occurrences of Li in different foods including many mushrooms and intakes are low [ 33 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ]; however, Li is a widely used metal in industrial and domestic appliances. It can be considered as a potential food contaminant due to its prevalence.…”