Overview
Singh and Nyau measured Cu, Cd, Pb, Zn, Ni, and Co in three edible wild mushroom species from a mining-influenced site in Solwezi District and an agriculture-influenced site in Mpongwe District, Zambia. The paper gives species-by-site mean concentrations on a dry-weight basis. Cadmium in Termitomyces titaniscus and Lactarius titaniscus was well above the source-cited 0.3 mg/kg FAO/WHO benchmark at both sites, while lead values stayed below or near the source-cited 2.0 mg/kg benchmark.
Key numbers
All mushroom concentrations are source-reported mean +/- SD in mg/kg dry weight.
| Site | Species | Cu | Cd | Pb | Zn | Ni | Co |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mpongwe | Amanita zambiana | 118.50 +/- 5.56 | 0.13 +/- 0.00 | 1.33 +/- 0.99 | 29.18 +/- 5.87 | 3.36 +/- 1.45 | 56.88 +/- 1.33 |
| Mpongwe | Termitomyces titaniscus | 91.40 +/- 0.35 | 6.63 +/- 0.03 | 1.52 +/- 0.39 | 18.98 +/- 1.62 | 1.25 +/- 0.35 | 44.80 +/- 0.62 |
| Mpongwe | Lactarius titaniscus | 46.90 +/- 0.76 | 4.27 +/- 0.10 | 1.96 +/- 0.11 | 38.88 +/- 3.03 | 2.22 +/- 1.33 | 76.52 +/- 0.34 |
| Solwezi | Amanita zambiana | 113.03 +/- 5.75 | 0.12 +/- 0.00 | 1.26 +/- 0.99 | 33.74 +/- 5.87 | 1.02 +/- 1.23 | 79.68 +/- 1.03 |
| Solwezi | Termitomyces titaniscus | 141.78 +/- 0.76 | 2.11 +/- 0.11 | 0.64 +/- 0.11 | 21.80 +/- 3.03 | 1.38 +/- 1.33 | 64.68 +/- 1.53 |
| Solwezi | Lactarius titaniscus | 79.98 +/- 0.35 | 3.67 +/- 0.03 | 1.12 +/- 0.39 | 31.18 +/- 1.62 | 1.12 +/- 0.35 | 49.80 +/- 0.62 |
The paper also reports source-cited FAO/WHO comparison values of 73 mg/kg Cu, 0.3 mg/kg Cd, 2.0 mg/kg Pb, 40 mg/kg Zn, 1.5 mg/kg Ni, and 50 mg/kg Co. Soil values across the paired sites spanned Cu 51.00-279.40 mg/kg, Cd 1.00-99.50 mg/kg, Pb 8.00-10.00 mg/kg, Zn 22.80-209.10 mg/kg, Ni 9.00-33.70 mg/kg, and Co 60.00-111.90 mg/kg dry weight.
Methods (brief)
Samples were collected from Solwezi forests in the Copperbelt mining region and from Mpongwe District in the Western Province agricultural region. Mushrooms were cleaned, oven-dried at 105 C overnight, ground, and digested from a 1 g dry sample with HNO3:H2SO4:HClO4 at 5:1:1. Metals were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry on a PerkinElmer AAnalyst 200 using commercial reference standards. The source reports dry-weight concentrations and does not perform arsenic, mercury, or chromium speciation.
Implications
- Certification: Adds dry-weight occurrence values for Cd, Pb, Ni, Co, Cu, and Zn in wild edible mushrooms from Zambia. The Cd results are most relevant for heavy-metal screening because four of six species-site means exceeded the paper’s cited 0.3 mg/kg comparator.
- Courses: Useful case study for mining-region vs agricultural-region mushroom uptake and for why mushroom species identity matters in occurrence screening.
- App: Supports Wild Mushrooms and Mushrooms with species-specific concentration data rather than a generic mushroom average.
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Verification notes
- Source reports total elemental concentrations for Cu, Cd, Pb, Zn, Ni, and Co; it does not measure arsenic, mercury, or chromium species.
- products: [] is intentional because the PDF is an occurrence study of freshly collected wild edible mushrooms, not a packaged mushroom product.
- The source cites FAO/WHO comparison values directly; this page records those as source-reported comparators and does not treat them as HMTc standards.
Update history
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