Selected arsenic species: As(III), As(V) and dimethylarsenic acid (DMAA) in Xerocomus badius fruiting bodies.

The aim of the study was to determine the content of As(III), As(V) and DMAA (dimethylarsinic acid) in Xerocomus badius fruiting bodies collected from selected Polish forests from areas subjected to very low or high anthropopressure and some commercially available samples obtained from the Polish Sanitary Inspectorate. The arsenic species determination was provided by two independent HPLC-HG-AAS hyphenated systems. The results show high levels (up to 27.1, 40.5 and 88.3 mg kg(-1) for As(III), As(V) and DMAA, respectively) of arsenic and occurrence of different species in mushrooms collected from areas subjected to high anthropopressure and two commercially available samples. For mushroom samples collected from areas not subjected to high anthropopressure and two commercially available samples the arsenic species level was below 0.5 mg kg(-1) for each arsenic form. Therefore, the accumulation of arsenic by mushrooms may lead to high (toxic for humans) arsenic concentrations, and arsenic species levels should be monitored in mushroom foodstuffs.