AN ASSESSMENT OF THE HEAVY METAL CONTENT OF VARIOUS WILD EDIBLE

Abstract

A determination was made of the concentrations of 9 heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Mn, Cu, Fe, Cr, Ni, Co and Zn) in six naturally growing mushroom species (Morchella esculenta, Helvella leucopus, Pleurotus ostreatus, Lactarius deliciosus, Tricholoma terreum and Suillus luteus) found in the forests around the city of Denizli and of soil substrates taken from where they were growing, and the possibility of using the fungi as a bio-indicator of environmental pollution was investigated. Analyses were performed with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Of the 9 heavy metals investigated in the study, the highest Cd and Pb contents were found in H. leucopus (3.44 and 3.94 mg kg(-1), respectively), the highest contents of Mn, Cu, Fe and Zn were in L. deliciosus (37.6, 56.1, 253 and 142.2 mg kg(-1), respectively), and the highest Cr, Ni and Co contents were found in P ostreatus (1.08, 132 and 0.55 mg kg(-1), respectively). It was concluded that mushrooms growing in parks or gardens in the city or in smaller towns, near to industrial areas or by the side of roads where there is heavy traffic, should not be consumed.