Selenium in selected species of edible mushrooms from Republic of

Macedonia

Biljana Bauer Petrovska1; Mitko Karadelev2; Olga Kirovska Cigulevska3; Sami

Suleymani4; Shevalj Memishi3

1
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of “Ss Ciryl and Methodius"; 2Institute of Biology, Faculty
of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of “Ss Ciryl and Methodius"; 3JZO ZZZ
Skopje; 4Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics, Tetovo University; R Macedonia

ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to know the levels of selenium in higher
edible mushrooms, since mushrooms can easily accumulate minerals.
Accumulation of selenium was analyzed in twenty one mushroom species collected from
different mountainous regions of the Republic of Macedonia in 1998-2007. Determination of
the concentration of selenium was made with the aid of atomic absorption spectrometry on the
instrument Optima-QES 2000. Selenium was found in 90 % of the investigated samples.
Results expressed on dry mass basis indicate that the content of selenium in the analysed
mushroom samples was consistent ranging from 0.002 mg/kg to 0.136 mg/kg, with the
exception of Lactarius deliciosus (L.) Gray. from Krushino with a mean level of 0.465 mg/kg.
The average selenium content of 0.067 mg/kg make the investigated mushrooms a valuable
source of selenium for human diet. Our results agree reasonably well with the levels found in
literature for many mushrooms species, less than 1.0 mg/kg dry matters. But some species in
the literature were found exceptionally rich in selenium what will facilitate us for our further
investigations on more samples from more areas in Republic of Macedonia.
Keywords: selenium, mushrooms, R. Macedonia

INTRODUCTION

Selenium is an essential dietary component for humans, and there is increasing

evidence for the efficacy of selenium as cancer-preventive compound and its protective effect
at various stages of carcinogenesis including both the early and later stages of cancer
progression (1,2). Also negative effect in the case of hiperselenosis exists (3). Mushrooms
collecting and its cultivation are very popular in Republic of Macedonia, particularly due to
its substantial contribution to food intake. The fact that mushrooms can accumulate metals
(4), induced the elemental content investigation in twenty one most commonly collected
mushroom species from different mountainous regions of the Republic of Macedonia, from a
point of medicinal and toxicological importance.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Accumulation of selenium was analyzed in twenty one mushroom species collected

from different mountainous regions of the Republic of Macedonia in 1998-2007. All the
samples were identified by d-r M. Karadelev and voucher specimens were deposited at the
Macedonian collection of mushrooms which belongs to the Institute of Biology at the Faculty
of Natural Sciences in Skopje. Related data about the substrate, association, locality and date
of the investigated species are presented in Table 1.
Determination of the concentration of selenium was made with the aid of atomic
absorption spectrometry on the instrument Optima-QES 2000. Selenium was determined in
mushrooms ash solution in 2% nitric acid. Samples were introduced with the aid of argon
plasma in the spectrometer. Determinations were achieved upon the applicative method
revised and validate by the producer Perkin Elmer.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Regulations for the mushroom quality in the Republic of Macedonia provide no

selenium composition data. Therefore, our results were compared with literature data. All the
results were expressed on a dry mass basis (Table 1).
The obtained results of analysis indicate that selenium contents vary considerably
between different mushroom species. Of the species investigated, by far the highest selenium
content was found in Lactarius deliciosus from Krushino. Other mushrooms having consistent
selenium contents included Agrocybe cylindracea, Amanita caesarea, Armillaria mellea,
Auricularia auricula-judae, Boletus edulis, Boletus erythropus, Calocybe gambosa,
Marasmius oreades, Pleurotus eryngii and Tricholoma terreum. The contents in these
mushrooms are sufficient to provide an amount of selenium that is nutritionally significant in
relation to the total daily intake of selenium (0.01-0.04 mg infants – 0.05-0.2 mg adults) (5).
Table1 Concentration of selenium (mg/kg dry mass) in the investigated edible mushrooms
from Republic of Macedonia
Species Substrate Association Locality Data Se
near town
Agaricus campestris L. on soil meadow Probistip, 20.10.1998 0.020
500
Agaricus silvicola (Vittad.) Mavrovo,
on soil beech forest 1300
29.09.2002 0.007
Peck
Populus near town
Agrocybe cylindracea (DC.)
on trunk tremula Negotino, 13.04.2002 0.090
Gillet 150
plantation
Amanita caesarea (Scop.) Kozuf Mt.,
on soil oak forest 600
24.10.2005 0.086
Pers.
Armillaria mellea (Vahl) P. on trunk of Vodno Mt.
mixed forest 800
16.10.2005 0.096
Kumm. deciduous tree
Auricularia auricula-judae fallen branch of
mixed forest Matka, 400 29.05.2004 0.099
(Bull.) Quél. deciduous tree
Kozuf Mt.,
Boletus edulis Bull. on soil beech forest 800
24.10.2005 0.109
near town
Boletus erythropus Pers. on soil oak forest Sv Nikole, 10.06.2007 0.043
400
near town
Boletus fechtneri Velen. on soil oak forest Sv Nikole, 10.06.2007 0.000
400
Boletus luridus Schaeff. on soil oak forest Matka, 300 11.06.2007 0.010
near town
Boletus rhodoxanthus
on soil oak forest Sv Nikole, 10.06.2007 0.002
(Krombh.) Kallenb. 400
Calocybe gambosa near town
on soil meadow Berovo,800
20.04.2003 0.064
(Fr.)Donk
Clavariadelphus pistillaris Serta Mt.,
on soil oak forest 1000
4.11.2002 0.004
(L.) Donk
Clitocybe nebularis Mavrovo,
on soil beech forest 1300
29.09.2002 0.000
(Batsch) P. Kumm.
Vill.
Clitocybe odora (Bull.) P. Gjavato,
on soil oak forest near Bitola,
3.09.2002 0.008
Kumm.
1200
Vill.
Laccaria laccata (Scop.) Krusopek,
on soil oak forest near Skopje,
28.10.2004 0.007
Cooke
800
Krusino,
Lactarius deliciosus (L.) pine
on soil near Kicevo 18.11.2003 0.465
Gray plantation 800-900
Bistra Mt.,
Lactarius volemus (Fr.) Fr. on soil beech forest 1300
1.08.2002 0.003
Marasmius oreades
on soil meadow Veles, 200 20.05.2005 0.085
(Bolton) Fr.
Pleurotus eryngii (DC.) on root of Vill. Pretor,
meadow 900
20.04.2002 0.068
Gillet Eryngium
Plackovica
Tricholoma terreum pine
on soil Mt. 1000- 5.12.2004 0.136
(Schaeff.) P. Kumm. plantation 1100
 Other edible mushrooms generally used in Macedonia, e.g. species Agaricus
campestris, Agaricus silvicola, Boletus luridus, Boletus rhodoxanthus, Clavariadelphus
pistillaris, Clitocybe odora, Laccaria laccata and Lactarius volemus contained only small
amounts of selenium. In Boletus fechtneri and Clitocybe nebularis, selenium was not
detected. The importance of these mushrooms as a source of selenium is therefore marginal.
Some differences were observed between the selenium content of the particular
species collected at different sites as well as depending on substrate of the fruiting body. The
results of several surveys show that there can be large differences in the concentrations of the
same metal in the same genuses.
Our results agree reasonably well with the levels found in literature for many
mushrooms species, less than 1.0 mg/kg dry matters (6,7). But some species in the literature
(8) were found exceptionally rich in selenium what will facilitate us for our further
investigations on more samples from more areas in Republic of Macedonia.

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the investigated samples of Macedonian edible mushrooms were good sources
of selenium for human diet. However selenium concentrations have been found to be lower
and do not represent a risk from toxicological point of view.

REFERENCES

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453-68.
4. Vetter Z. (1994) Z. Lebensm. Unters. Forsch. 198: 469.
5. Kroschwitz J., Winokur M., Chemistry, 2nd Ed. New York:McGraw-Hill, Inc; 1990. p.
6. Falandysz J, Lipka K. (2006) Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 57(3):217-33.
7. Souci SW, Fachmann W, Kraut H, Food Composition and tables. Stuttgart:Medpharm,
1994: 782-800.
8. Mattila P, Könkö K, et al. (2001) J Agric Food Chem. 49(5):2343-8.

Corresponding author: Biljana Bauer Petrovska