engleski

Assessment of toxic metal(loid)s content and 137Cs activity concentration in Boletus mushrooms obtained from Croatia and Eastern European countries

Boletus is genus of wild growing mushrooms and preferred delicacy in Croatia and in the world. They concentrate contaminants of anthropogenic and geogenic origin from the soil more efficiently than plants and are thus often used as bioindicators of environmental pollution by As, Cd, Hg, Pb and radionuclide 137Cs. The aim of this study was to determine the toxic metal(loid)s content and 137Cs activity concentration in Boletus mushrooms from Croatia (N=84, except for 137Cs N=8) and those imported to the EU from Eastern European countries (N=128). Before stabile metal(loid) analysis by inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), mushrooms were lyophilized and digested in microwave digestion system. High-resolution gamma-spectrometry was used to determine the activity concentrations of 137Cs. Our results showed significantly lower levels of As, Hg and Pb, but higher Cd level and 137Cs activity concentration in Boletus mushrooms from Croatia vs. Eastern European countries. Only three samples from Eastern Europe had Cd (34%, range 15-63%) above maximum levels set by European Commission for wild fungi (5 mg/kg dry mass), while eleven samples (31% higher, range 5-63%) from Croatia crossed this legal level, all collected in Northern Croatia. 137Cs activity concentration in all mushrooms were below the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination in food products intended for import in the EU.

Boletus ; metaloid ; element analysis ; Croatian vs. Eastern European countries

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