Mercury in Bay Bolete (Xerocomus badius): bioconcentration by fungus and assessment of element intake by humans eating fruiting bodies

Jerzy Falandysz (1) , Anna Katarzyna Kojta (2, 1) , Grażyna Jarzyńska (1) , Małgorzata Drewnowska (1) , Anna Dryżałowska (1) , Daria Wydmańska (1) , Izabela Kowalewska (1) , Anna Wacko (1) , Monika Szlosowska (1) , Kannan Kurunthachalam (3) , Piotr Szefer (4)

1 Institute of Environmental Sciences & Public Health
2 Chemistry
3 NYS Department of Health
4 Department of Food Sciences

Concentrations of Hg were determined in 221 specimens of Bay Bolete and in 221 samples of corresponding forest topsoil layer (0-10 cm) collected from 18 sites across geographically and industrially diverse regions of Poland in 2000-2008. Mercury concentrations in caps and stipes of Bay Bolete were strongly correlated (p < 0.0001), whereas the relationship between the Hg concentrations in soil and mushrooms varied depending on the sampling location. The Bay Bolete showed a lower bioconcentration potential of Hg at sites with elevated soil Hg concentrations and a higher at sites with lower Hg concentrations in soil. In a view of Hg content, the consumption of Bay Boletes (caps or a whole mushrooms) at the regions surveyed at least at a rate up to 2.5 kg per capita weekly in a mushrooming season is safe and will not result in exceeding of currently allowable Hg intake doses.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Jerzy Falandysz, Anna Katarzyna Kojta, Grażyna Jarzyńska, Małgorzata Drewnowska, Anna Dryżałowska, et al.. Mercury in Bay Bolete (Xerocomus badius): bioconcentration by fungus and assessment of element intake by humans eating fruiting bodies. Food Additives and Contaminants, 2012, pp.1. ⟨10.1080/19440049.2012.662702⟩. ⟨hal-00801034⟩