Determination of cyanide and thiocyanate in Sugihiratake mushroom using HPLC method with fluorometric detection

Abstract

A novel type of encephalopathy occurred in patients with chronic kidney diseases, which was associated with the ingestion of the Sugihiratake mushroom during the fall of 2004 in Japan. We attempted to investigate whether cyanide and thiocyanate are present in the Sugihiratake samples and determined the cyanide and thiocyanate levels in fifteen samples collected from different Japanese districts using HPLC with fluorometric detection. The cyanide ions and thiocyanate ions were detected in the ranges of N.D.-114.0 and N.D.-17.0 μg/g in the samples, respectively. This is the first study to quantitatively detect cyanide and thiocyanate in the Sugihiratake mushrooms. This result demonstrated that cyanide exposure could occur from the intake of Sugihiratake mushrooms in one's diet. Furthermore, we discussed the possible association between cyanide and the onset of encephalopathy.