Imleria badia culinary-medicinal mushroom with interesting biological properties

Evaluation of the Nutritional and Health Values of Selected Polish Mushrooms Considering Fatty Acid Profiles and Lipid Indices

Imleria badia, Boletus edulis, and Cantharellus cibarius are popular mushrooms of economic importance in Poland. Since physical and mental development of a person and the maintenance of good health entail providing the body with adequate nutrients, including plant and animal fats, the aim of this study was to determine the fatty acid profiles of three mushroom species from Poland and to assess their nutritional and health values using lipid indices. Studied mushrooms have a favorable fatty acid composition due to the high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Low values of the atherohenic index (AI) and the thrombogenic index (TI) prove that the consumption of the fungi may decrease the risk of coronary heart disease. Products with a high hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (H/H) and health-promoting index value are assumed to be more beneficial to human health, granting the possibility for using mushrooms in the nutrition of people with hypertension and in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Spatial risk assessment of radiocesium contamination of edible mushrooms - Lessons from a highly frequented recreational area

The radioactive contamination of edible mushrooms increases human health hazards, especially in high mushroom collection intensity areas. Today only coarse-scale data with low spatial resolution are available, which prevents us from predicting human risk. To reduce the risk for human health, we need spatially explicit recommendations at landscape-scale. We used the Bavarian Forest National Park, a famous mushroom hunting location in Europe, as a model system. We aimed to increase the predictability of the contamination of the two most prominent mushroom species, bay boletus (Imleria badia) and ceps (Boletus edulis), and provide an efficient evidence-based risk assessment at landscape-scale. We revealed a high and a low ¹³⁷Cs-activity impact area based on soil samples, which is also reflected by the mushroom species. ¹³⁷Cs-activity of Imleria badia is about five times higher than the contamination of Boletus edulis; with one-third of the Imleria badia samples being over the statutory limit. The difference of contamination between species is more pronounced in the high-impact area. Elevation is a strong predictor in contrast to orientation of slopes. In high-impact areas, mushrooms showed higher ¹³⁷Cs-activities at lower elevations. Soil analysis revealed that the maximum of the ¹³⁷Cs-activity is still in the organic layers, indicating further mushroom contamination. We recommend using only Boletus edulis in the low-impact area for diet. We suggest that Boletus edulis bear a lower health risk than Imleria badia due to lower ¹³⁷Cs-activities. Nevertheless, we need more landscape-scale studies to assess the ¹³⁷Cs contamination risk for humans. Studies are primarily important in high-impact areas, which can be roughly identified by using soil contamination maps. The focus should be on high accumulating mushroom species like Imleria badia. Our study can serve as a blueprint to rapidly assess human health risks caused by radioactive contamination in landscapes intensively used by mushroom collectors.

The importance of Cu × Pb interactions to Lentinula edodes yield, major/trace elements accumulation and antioxidants

Due to the use of various substrates in the production of edible mushrooms which may contain metals, including Cu and Pb, it is important to understand the influence of mutual interactions between them in the process of their accumulation in fruit bodies. For this reason, the effects of Cu, Pb, and Cu × Pb on yield, accumulation of five major elements (Ca, K, Mg, Na and P), trace elements (Cu, Pb and Fe) and some bioactive compounds in Lentinula edodes fruit bodies were studied. Both the metals were added in doses of 0.1 and 0.5 mM (Cu0.1, Cu0.5, Pb0.1, Pb0.5 and their combinations). The addition of the metals resulted in a reduction in size, amount and finally yield of fruit bodies. Depending on the presence of Cu and or Pb and their concentration in the substrate, both antagonism and synergism may occur. The influence on the accumulation of other determining elements was also recorded. Among phenolic compounds, phenolic acids and flavonoids were detected. 2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic acid dominated in fruit bodies in the control variant, Pb0.1, Pb0.5 and all experimental variants enriched with Cu + Pb, while gallic acid was the major phenolic after Cu0.1 and Cu0.5 addition. Only protocatechuic acid content increased in all combinations. A significant decrease of all aliphatic acid contents in comparison to the control variant was observed in the Cu0.1 and Pb0.1 variants. Significant stimulation of aliphatic acid synthesis was recorded in Cu0.5 and Pb0.5 variants and in the mixture of both the metals. The additions pointed to the possible role of the determined molecules in detoxification mechanisms.