ABSTRACT
Wild growing mushrooms have been consumed as a delicacy in Europe and Asia due to their savorous taste, aroma and species heterogeneity as well as therapeutic effect in preventing diseases such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and cancer. Statutory limits for arsenic (As) in wild edible mushrooms has been established at 3.0 mg/kg DM. The health risks of metals depend more on bioavailability instead of total content, however, limited studies elucidated the health risk for humans. In addition, limited information about As speciation and distribution in mushroom was available. Moreover, more attention was put on cultivated mushrooms, less focus on the wild growing ones. Commonly, element contents in mushrooms are species- and/or growing stages-dependent, thus waiting for investigated.
