Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XIX
Written by Ionuț Răzvan DOBRE
Edible mushrooms are foods with a great nutritional value of which chemical composition differs from one species to another depending on the nutritive substrate, the development stage and microclimate conditions. The accumulation of heavy metals can take place in different phases of the technological process of growing, harvesting, conditioning, packaging as it becamed necessary to determine the acumulation of heavy metals from edible mushrooms. The researches were done by using samples with commercial mushrooms (Agaricus and Pleurotus) packaged in bottle recipes, tin cans and on fresh samples, purchased from public sales units. Determinations were done by using optical emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma ICP – OES, after the disaggregation with a microwave oven for digestion Berghof. In the case of fresh mushrooms, the higher concentrations of zinc (4,16 mg/kg) and copper (3,15 mg/kg) can be explained by introducing them as zinc sulphide and copper sulphide in the nutritive substrate. The mushrooms packaged in glass jars presented higher quantities of lead (0,44 mg/kg), this fact can be explained by the intense traffic in the vicinity of the mushroom farms or by soil composition where were grazing animals from which was obtained the fertilizer used in the substrat of culture. The samples of mushrooms packaged in cans presented a higher quantity of tin (0,39 respectively 0,40 mg/kg) released probably from cans walls as a result of their deterioration. All the heavy metals existing in the samples were under the maximum admissible limits established by the legislation in force. In all the mushroom farms were identified residues of copper, zinc and lead. Tin was present just in the mushrooms packaged in cans.
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