Arsenic and cadmium content in edible mushrooms from São Paulo, Brazil determined by INAA and GF AAS

Abstract

Arsenic and cadmium contents in eight edible mushroom species (Agaricus bisporus, Agaricus sp, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleorotus florida, Pleorotus eryngui, Pleurotus osteatus, Pleurotus salmoneostramineus, Lentinula edodes) consumed by Brazilian population were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF AAS), respectively. Arsenic concentrations varied from 0.009 mg/kg in P. eryngui to 0.210 mg/kg dry weight in L. edodoes and Cd from 0.011 g/kg in P. eryngui to 0.229 mg/kg dw in P. salmoneostramineus. The consumption of mushrooms in São Paulo-Brazil may be considered safe from a toxicological point of view as As and Cd presented levels of ingestion below the maximum levels recommended by the World Health Organization.