Mercury in Hazel BoleteLeccinum griseumand soil substratum: Distribution, bioconcentration and dietary exposure

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the accumulation and distribution of total mercury (Hg) in fruiting bodies of edible wild-grown mushroom Hazel Bolete Leccinum griseum (Quél.) Singer, collected from six spatially distantly distributed places across Poland and to assess the probable dietary intake of the element by consumers. Mercury content of fungal and soil samples were determined by cold-vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy (CV-AAS) with a direct sample thermal decomposition coupled with gold wool trap of Hg and its further desorption and quantitative measurement at the wavelength of 296 nm. The median values of Hg content in caps of L. griseum collected from less-contaminated places (< 0.10 mg Hg kg(-1) dry matter in upper 0-10 cm layer of soil substratum) were from 0.23 mg kg(-1) dm to 0.43 mg kg(-1) dm. And for more contaminated topsoil (0.15 mg Hg kg(-1) dry matter), the median in caps was about 1.5 mg kg(-1) dry matter. The mushroom L. griseum has potential to accumulate Hg in fruiting bodies, while quantities of this element noted in consignments of this species originating from the forests with typical background values of Hg in topsoil are low. In the light of the published value of PTWI for Hg consumption of fruiting bodies of L. griseus emerged in forests of Poland is without health risk for consumers. Information on total mercury and methylmercury in Fungi of the genus Leccinum is also described briefly.

Risk Assessment of the Wild Edible Leccinum Mushrooms Consumption According to the Total Mercury Content

“…Qc / s values ranged from 1.18 ( L. pseudoscabrum ) to 1.66 ( L. piceinum ). Comparable Qc/s values in the genus Leccinum were also published in other studies [ 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 ]. Translocation quotient values greater than 1 indicate that the concentration of Hg in the caps of analyzed mushrooms is greater than the concentration of Hg in the stems.…”

Mercury bioaccumulation by Suillus bovinus mushroom and probable dietary intake with the mushroom meal

“…Differences in Hg contents of soils is due to airborne Hg pollution (accumulation in litter and organic layer of soils) or from geogenic Hg (which occurs under the organic horizon layer). Mercury availability to the mycelia, genetic factor, and adaptation to the geochemical composition and anomalies of soil background could be important variables that determine the amounts of Hg observed in mushrooms—as could be observed in several studies (Árvay et al 2014 ; Crane et al 2010 ; Falandysz 2014 ; Falandysz and Bielawski 2001 , 2007 ; Falandysz and Drewnowska 2015 ; Falandysz et al 2012a , 2012b , 2014b , 2015a ; Krasińska and Falandysz 2015 , 2016 ; Kojta et al 2012 , 2015 ; Wiejak et al 2014 ).…”

Artificial 137Cs and natural 40K in mushrooms from the subalpine region of the Minya Konka summit and Yunnan Province in China

“…A species-specific accumulation of some elements is known for certain mushrooms and examples documented for mushrooms from the wild are the elements Ag, As, Cd, Fe, Hg, Rb, Se, or V (Borovička et al 2010 ; Falandysz and Borovička 2013 ; Falandysz and Rizal 2016 ; Falandysz et al 2007 ; Gąsecka et al 2017 ; Horyna and Řanda 1988 ; Krasińska and Falandysz 2015 and 2016 ; Lepp et al 1987 ), but this accumulation can also be site specific because of particular geogenic characteristics or because of anthropogenic (emission and deposition) influences. Absorption and accumulation of certain elements (K, P, Mg, Cu, Zn) can be more or less regulated under typical soil substrata conditions by species (Falandysz and Borovička 2013 ).…”