Evaluation of cadmium accumulation in pink oyster mushrooms cultivated on the cadmium contaminated substrates and health risk analysis

Pink oyster mushrooms are rich inprotein, dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals, making them agreat addition toany diet. However, pink oyster mushrooms have the ability toaccumulate high concentrations ofheavy metals, some ofwhich, such ascadmium, can cause adverse effects onhuman health. The aim ofthis study was toevaluate the ability ofpink oyster mushrooms toabsorb Cd from substrates contaminated with Cd and toassess the human health risks associated with the consumption ofthese mushrooms. Anexperiment was carried out inacompletely randomised design and included four treatments (four Cd contamination levels i.e.0, 20, 50 and 100mg·kg–¹) with three replications. Cd accumulation inmushrooms increased with increasing Cd content insubstrates and ranged from 1.8mg·kg–¹ (non-contaminated substrate) to23.8mg·kg–¹ ofdry mass (substrate contaminated with 100mg·kg–¹ ofCd). Onthe other hand, total mushroom yield showed adecreasing trend with increasing Cd levels insubstrates. The results ofthe present study suggest that pink oyster mushrooms possess the capability toabsorb Cd from the substrate inwhich they grow. The obtained results for target hazard quotient (THQ) of Cd point to the conclusion that the consumption of mushrooms cultivated on the Cd-contaminated substrates could produce negative health effects.