Overview
Ordak and colleagues analyzed cadmium and lead in seven preparation types made from Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) collected in October 2024 in central Poland. All preparations were analyzed as liquids (µg/mL), enabling direct comparison across dried, boiled, fermented, infusion, decoction, and tincture forms. Preparation type accounted for 94% of variance in cadmium concentration rank and 97% of variance in lead rank. Dried preparations carried the highest cadmium; fermented and aqueous forms (decoction, infusion) carried lower concentrations; alcohol tinctures carried the highest lead. While aqueous and fermented preparations showed lower metal concentrations, none can be considered entirely safe given the high baseline cadmium content of Amanita muscaria.
Key numbers
Cadmium concentrations in liquid preparations (µg/mL, three replicates per type, Figure 1 dot plots):
- Dried with skin: 0.1789 to 0.1816 µg/mL.
- Dried without skin: 0.1848 to 0.1888 µg/mL.
- Boiled: 0.0294 to 0.0314 µg/mL.
- Fermented: 0.0084 to 0.0097 µg/mL.
- Decoction: 0.0077 to 0.0090 µg/mL.
- Tincture (mineralized): 0.0835 to 0.0854 µg/mL.
- Tincture (direct) and infusion: below detection limit.
Lead concentrations in liquid preparations (µg/mL):
- Dried with skin: 0.4805 to 0.4841 µg/mL.
- Dried without skin: 0.4447 to 0.4495 µg/mL.
- Boiled: 0.3956 to 0.4136 µg/mL.
- Fermented: 0.4093 to 0.4106 µg/mL.
- Infusion: 0.4093 to 0.4106 µg/mL.
- Decoction: 0.4207 to 0.4261 µg/mL.
- Tincture (mineralized): 0.7675 to 0.7711 µg/mL.
- Tincture (direct): 0.7914 to 0.7961 µg/mL.
Statistical significance (Kruskal-Wallis followed by Dunn post hoc): cadmium H = 16.29, p = 0.006, eta-squared 0.94; lead H = 22.44, p = 0.002, eta-squared 0.97.
Methods (brief)
Flame-AAS (SpectrAA 250 Plus, Varian) for both cadmium and nickel. Cadmium: lamp 5 mA, slit 0.2 nm, analytical wavelength 228.8 nm. Lead: lamp 5 mA, slit 1.0 nm, analytical wavelength 217.0 nm. Calibration standards: cadmium (Cd) 0.2 to 1.2 µg/mL, lead (Pb) 0.4 to 1.2 µg/mL. Most preparations mineralized before AAS; infusion and decoction measured directly. No certified mushroom matrix reference material used; validation by calibration and replicate measurements.
Evidence fitness
First study to compare cadmium and lead across seven Amanita muscaria preparation types simultaneously; directly relevant to the growing consumer market for dried, tincture, and fermented fly agaric products. Limitation: results reported as µg/mL of the liquid preparation, not µg/kg of fruiting-body tissue, making direct comparison to EU maximum levels (which apply to the mushroom as sold) methodologically complex. Single harvest site and single collection date. Only cadmium and lead measured; arsenic, mercury, chromium, and other metals are noted as future work.
Related evidence
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