ASSESSMENT OF BIOAVAILABILITY OF CADMIUM IN MUSHROOMS BY MEANS OF FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH RATS - RELEVANCE FOR MAN

A pulverized mixture of Agaricus sp. known to accumulate Cd, mixed 15:85 with standard rat diet, was fed to a group of growing rats. The mixture contained 3.87 .mu.g Cd/g dry weight. A control group received the standard rat diet alone (0.08 .mu.g Cd/g). During the feeding period of 6 wk the animals of both groups excreted .apprx. 90% of the ingested Cd in the feces. In comparison to the control group, the experimental group accumulated much more Cd in liver, kidneys and remaining carcass. The bioavailability of Cd contained in mushrooms is not less than that of Cd contained in other feeds and foods but most mushroom species do not contain more Cd than other vegetables. In humans the average Cd intake from the total diet is considerably below the tolerable level. Generalized warnings against consumption of mushrooms are therefore not considered necessary.