Wild-growing edible mushrooms contain many biologically valuable substances. However, they are considered a risk commodity due to their extremely high capacity for bioaccumulation of potential risk elements and pollutants from the environment. Four bolete mushrooms from the genus Leccinum were collected from 16 forested areas of Slovakia from June to October 2019. The total mercury content in soil and fruiting body parts was determined by an AMA-254 Advanced Mercury Analyzer. Soil pollution by total mercury was evaluated by contamination factor (Cfi). Bioaccumulation factor (BCF), translocation factor (Qc/s), percentage of provisional tolerable weekly intake (%PTWI), and target hazard quotient (THQ) were used to describe and compare uptake and transition abilities of mushrooms, and the health risk arising from consumption of the mushrooms. Total mercury content varied between 0.05 to 0.61 mg kg-1 DW in the soil/substrate samples, and between 0.16 and 5.82 (caps), and 0.20 and 3.50 mg kg-1 DW (stems) in fruiting body samples. None of the analyzed locations represented a health risk based on %PTWI values, however, three locations may pose a significant health risk from the perspective of THQ values.
Keywords: Leccinum; bioaccumulation; contamination; mercury; risk assessment.