Analysis of Mineral Element Contents in Fungi
摘要
Mushrooms are known for their ability to effectively uptake mineral elements from their substrates. For this reason, the content of macroelements (K, Na, Ca, Mg, S, P), microelements (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Se) and potentially toxic elements (Cd, As, Pb, Ni, Cr, Co, Hg, etc.) in different species of fungi was widely studied worldwide. This chapter provides comprehensive procedures on sample pretreatment, digestion methods, and instrumental analysis options that can be employed to obtain reliable results. Although there are several analytical instruments that allow the direct determination of element contents in solid mushroom samples, in many cases, the analytical techniques used for metal determination require that the analyte be dissolved in a liquid aqueous solution. Thus, wet digestion procedures must be applied to the solid sample to bring the analytes into solution. Accurate data on mineral elements determination is crucial for evaluating mineral intake in human diets and for assessing the health risks posed by the ingestion of edible mushrooms due to their content of potentially toxic elements.