article · Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part B
An investigation assessed mercury concentrations in four species of Boletus mushrooms and underlying surface soils across ten forested areas in Poland and Belarus using cold-vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy. Across the sampled sites, soil mercury concentrations remained at background levels between 0.020 and 0.17 milligrams per kilogram of dry matter. However, the mushrooms showed notable bioconcentration, with median mercury levels ranging from 0.38 to 4.7 milligrams per kilogram in caps and 0.13 to 2.5 milligrams per kilogram in stipes. Boletus reticulatus and Boletus pinophilus demonstrated the highest bioaccumulation capacity, showing bioconcentration factors reaching up to 130 in caps. Consuming these species can expose individuals to elevated doses of mercury, with caps from one nature reserve area yielding an estimated intake of 1.4 milligrams. Despite these elevated levels, occasional consumption of these valued species may remain safe.
Wild mushrooms are popular for foraging and eating, but certain species can concentrate toxic heavy metals from the environment even when surrounding soil contamination is low. Understanding mercury accumulation in commonly collected Boletus species helps clarify potential health risks for consumers and provides essential baseline information on dietary exposure resulting from eating wild fungi.
The abstract does not indicate an application pathway.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
This paper reports the results of the study of Hg contents of four species of Boletus mushroom (Boletus reticulatus Schaeff. 1763, B. pinophilus Pilát & Dermek 1973, B. impolitus Fr. 1838 and B. luridus Schaeff. 1774) and the surface soils (0-10 cm layer, ∼100 g) samples beneath the mushrooms from ten forested areas in Poland and Belarus by cold-vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy. The ability of the species to bioconcentrate Hg was calculated (as the BCF) while Hg intakes from consumption of these mushroom species were also estimated. The median Hg content of the caps of the species varied between 0.38 and 4.7 mg kg(-1) dm; in stipes between 0.13 and 2.5 mg kg(-1) dm and in the mean Hg contents of soils varied from 0.020 ± 0.01 mg kg(-1) dm to 0.17 ± 0.10 mg kg(-1) dm which is considered as "background" Hg level. The median Hg content of caps of B. reticulatus and B. pinophilus were up to 4.7 and 3.6 mg kg(-1) dm, respectively, and they very efficiently bioaccumulate Hg with median BCF values of up to 130 for caps and 58 for stipes. The caps and stipes of these mushrooms if eaten will expose consumer to elevated dose of total Hg estimated at 1.4 mg for caps of Boletus reticulatus from the Kacze Łęgi site, which is a nature reserve area. Nevertheless, the occasional consumption of the valued B. reticulatus and B. pinophilus mushrooms maybe safe.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1080/03601234.2014.922853
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
