Enhancing the lithium content of white button mushrooms Agaricus bisporus using LiNO3 fortified compost: effects on the uptake of Li and other trace elements

Attempts to bio-enrich fungal biomass with essential trace elements to produce dietary supplements have some tradition and an example is selenium. Lithium salts have medical applications, but safer forms are sought and lithiated foods and food supplements may be an alternative. This study evaluated the lithiation of white Agaricus bisporus mushrooms using commercial compost fortified with LiNO3 and investigated the effects on co-accumulation of trace elements. The fortifications at levels of 1.0, 5.0, 10, 50 and 100 mg kg−1 dw, resulted in corresponding median increases in mushroom Li concentrations of 0.74, 5.0, 7.4, 19 and 21 mg kg−1 dw, respectively, relative to 0.031 mg kg−1 dw in control mushrooms. The bio-concentration potential for Li uptake decreased at higher levels of fortification, with saturation occurring at 100 mg kg−1, and at the level of 500 mg kg−1 the mycelium failed to produce mushrooms. The compost fortification resulted in up to several hundred-fold enrichment of mushrooms compared to those grown on control compost, underlining their potential for therapeutic use. At higher fortification levels, some effects were seen on the co-accumulation of other elements, such as Ag (stems), As, Cd, Cr, Cs, Cu, Hg (stems), Mn, Rb, Sr, U (stems) and Zn; 0.05 0.05)

Lithiation of Agaricus bisporus mushrooms using compost fortified with LiOH: Effect of fortification levels on Li uptake and co-accumulation of other trace elements

This study investigated the lithiation of white Agaricus bisporus (common button) mushrooms using compost fortified with LiOH solutions at concentrations from 1 to 500 mg kg-1 compost dw. Apart from the highest level of fortification, the median Li concentrations in the cultivated mushrooms were elevated from 0.74 to 21 mg kg-1 dw (corresponding to compost fortification from 1.0 to 100 mg LiOH, kg-1 dw), relative to control mushrooms at 0.031 mg kg-1 dw. The bio-concentration potential for Li uptake in fruiting bodies was found to decrease at higher levels of fortification e.g. 50 - 100 mg kg-1 dw, and at the highest level - 500 mg kg-1, the mycelium failed to produce mushrooms. The fortification of the compost with LiOH appears to have had little, if any, effect on the co-accumulation of other elements such as Ag, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, Tl, U, V and Zn in the fruiting bodies, which generally occurred at the lower range of the results reported in the literature for cultivated A. bisporus. Thus compost fortification with LiOH provides an effective means of lithiating A. bisporus for potential pro-therapeutic use