Uptake of arsenic by mushrooms from soil

Abstract

Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (standard addition method) was used to determine the total arsenic in wild-growing mushrooms after digestion with nitric acid, then with perchloric acid and in associated soils after digestion with mixtures of nitric and hydrofluoric acids in a microwave system. Among 83 species of mushrooms the highest concentrations of arsenic on a dry mass basis were found in Laccaria amethystea (26-125 mg kg-1 ), Laccaria laccata (11-33 mg kg-1 ), Thelephora terrestris (38 mg kg-1 ), Boletus cavipes (11.6 mg kg-1 ) and Ramaria botrytis (10 mg kg-1). Mushroom caps of L.laccata, L. amethystea, and B. cavipes had approximately double the arsenic concentrations found in stems. The arsenic concentrations in caps of L. amethystea and L. laccata were directly proportional to the concentrations in the soils. The concentrations of arsenic in the soils were in the range 6.5-65 mg kg-1. Among the 19 mushroom caps with arsenic concentrations above the method detection limit of 0.2 mg As/kg dry mass, only L. amethystea and L. laccata had arsenic concentration ratios 'cap/soil' higher than 1 {between 1.1 and 1.9). Thelephora terrestris had a ratio of 2.37.

Arsenic Compounds in Higher Fungi

“…However, several mushrooms such as Laccaria amethystina, 7,8,[16][17][18][19][20] Laccaria fraterna, 19 Sarcosphaera coronaria, 8,19 Macrolepiota procera 21 and Agaricus sp. 8,22,23 are known to accumulate arsenic to high concentrations (2000 g g…”

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

“…However, there are notable exceptions; for example, measured values of As between 4 and 146 mg/ kg dw and even extreme levels of 1420 mg/kg dw in polluted areas have been reported for Laccaria amethystina. 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).…”

Inorganic and organic arsenic compounds in Slovenian mushrooms: comparison of arsenic-specific detectors for liquid chromatography

“…The mushrooms collected in Slovenia (Slekovec and Irgolic 1996) were stored in plastic bags at -25°C in a freezer. The samples were freeze-dried at 20°C under a vacuum (1.33 kPa, 10 torr) for 48 hours to constant mass.…”

“…Among the trace elements accumulated by several mushrooms is arsenic (Byrne et al, 1976;Slekovec and Irgolic 1996). The inorganic arsenic (probably arsenate) supplied by the soil to mushrooms may be converted in the mushroom tissues to organic arsenic compounds.…”

“…*To whom correspondence should be addressed at: metka.slekovec@uni-mb.si concentrations of total arsenic exceeding 10 mg kg -1 dry mass (Slekovec and Irgolic, 1996). The arsenic compounds in these four mushrooms were identified and quantified to increase knowledge about arsenic metabolites in mushrooms, to accumulate information about the arsenic compounds and their concentrations in the same mushroom from different locations, and to compare the performance of a flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (GFAAS), and an inductively coupled argon plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) as detector for arsenic in the aqueous effluents from pressure liquid chromatographic columns.…”