The use of edible mushrooms from the spontaneous flora can help complete food diets being considered important sources of micronutrients with positive effects on human health. The identification of the nutritional status of the mushrooms from the Transylvanian area involves identification of species, environmental factors, and qualitative and quantitative physico-chemical mushrooms’ traits. The purpose of the research is to determine the macro and micro elemental content of the mushrooms from a specific area to provide a complete picture of their interaction with the environment. The samples considered for the analysis consisted of two species of mushrooms Boletus edulis Bull. (boletus) and Cantharellus cibarius Fr. (chanterelle mushrooms) and determinations of mineral elements were performed using an ElvaX Mobile - a portable Energy Dispersive - X-Ray Fluorescence (ED-XRF) analyzer. The results of the study revealed that potassium was the most abundant macro element (in average concentration of 23.300 ppm) in Boletus edulis Bull. followed by calcium. The same trend was recorded in the case of Cantharellus cibarius Fr. samples. Among the microelements, Fe tended to be most abundant in both mushrooms’ species. The main idea derived from the research carried out is that wild-grown mushrooms are natural food resources, which must be valued due to their flavor and taste on one hand and to their high mineral content on the other hand.

wild mushrooms, nutritional status, mineral element, Boletus edulis Bull., Cantharellus cibarius Fr.

environmental engineering

Presentation: oral presentation