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Heavy Metal Index

The Influence of Heavy Metals Contamination in Soil on the Composition of Some Wild Edible Mushrooms

Overview

Mititelu and colleagues measured cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), Cu, Fe, nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and Zn in wild edible mushrooms and nearby soil from two Romanian urban areas. The source is routeable because it reports mushroom concentrations in ug/g dry weight for two edible species at two sites, with paired soil data for context. Cadmium was much higher at the more contaminated soil site, reaching 3.9 ug/g in Boletus edulis and 5.11 ug/g in Hymenochaete rubiginosa.

Key numbers

The paper reports concentrations in ug/g dry weight.

  • Soil values provide exposure context: soil 1 Pb 17.9 +/- 2.5, Cd 0.3 +/- 1.1, Cu 88.3 +/- 3.1, Fe 538.6 +/- 27.5, Ni 7.5 +/- 1.9, Zn 178.1 +/- 5.1; soil 2 Pb 35.6 +/- 3.3, Cd 6.1 +/- 2.8, Cu 48.5 +/- 2.1, Fe 463.5 +/- 31.9, Ni 27.5 +/- 3.2, Zn 196.5 +/- 7.4.
  • Boletus edulis mushroom values included Cd 0.33 +/- 2.4 and Pb 0.85 +/- 2.8 at soil 1, and Cd 3.9 +/- 3.1 and Pb 1.4 +/- 1.4 at soil 2. The same table reports Fe 264.81 +/- 21.5 at soil 1 and 224.3 +/- 11.8 at soil 2, with Zn 65.12 +/- 5.1 and 78.4 +/- 5.5.
  • Hymenochaete rubiginosa included the highest source-reported Cd value, 5.11 +/- 1.2 ug/g at soil 2, and the highest source-reported Pb value, 1.51 +/- 3.3 ug/g at soil 2. The paper also reports a high Cr value of 6.5 +/- 2.2 ug/g in the mushroom table.
  • The authors conclude that metal transfer from soil into mushrooms was present and species-dependent.

Methods (brief)

The study collected wild edible mushrooms and corresponding soil samples from two adjacent urban locations. Samples were dried and analyzed for heavy metals, with the mushroom and soil results reported separately. The paper is not a retail market survey; it is a site-paired environmental occurrence study.

Implications

This source adds Romania-context wild edible mushroom occurrence data for Cadmium, Lead, Chromium, Nickel, Copper, Zinc, and Iron. The paired soil information is useful for explaining geographic variance, but benchmark admission should be careful because the sample frame intentionally compares urban contaminated sites.

Update history

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