Human exposure to heavy metals and possible public health risks via consumption of wild edible mushrooms from Slovak Paradise National Park, Slovakia

Abstract

The contamination level of 92 samples (12 species) of wild edible mushrooms and underlying substrates with heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn) in the Slovak Paradise National Park that borders with a region of historical mining and processing of polymetallic ores, were determined. The collected samples were analyzed using of atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The metals were determined separately in hymenophore (H) and rest of fruit bodies (RFB). Bioaccumulation factor as well as ratio of metal content in H and RFB were calculated. Cadmium and lead contents in hymenophore exceeded statutory limits of the EU (Cd: 0.5 mg/kg dry weight (dw), Pb: 1.0 mg/kg dw) for edible mushrooms in 96% and 83% of the samples, respectively. The risk from the consumption of the collected mushroom species was calculated based on the provisionally tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) values, and the highest health risk arising with consumption of particularly Macrolepiota procera, Marasmius oreades and Russula vesca from the observed area was demonstrated. It was shown that average weekly consumption of tested mushrooms species results the threat of exceeding of PTWI limits in the case of cadmium values (by 164%, 86% and 4% of PTWI for M. oreades, R. vesca and R. puellaris, respectively) and of mercury (by 96% of PTWI for M. procera) but not lead.

Variation of heavy metal contamination between mushroom species in the Copperbelt province, Zambia: are the people at risk?

“…Differences in TFs may reflect variation in physiological processes, uptake capabilities and growth rate between mushroom species . This study is consistent with other studies that have also detected significant accumulation efficiency of metals in several mushroom species . Although soils in this study were highly contaminated with Cu, the TFs in mushrooms were mostly below 1 suggesting that Cu accumulation level in mushrooms is determined by species physiological mechanism rather than soil contamination.…”

“…21,22,31 This study is consistent with other studies that have also detected significant accumulation efficiency of metals in several mushroom species. 12,31,[47][48][49] Although soils in this study were highly contaminated with Cu, the TFs in mushrooms were mostly below 1 suggesting that Cu accumulation level in mushrooms is determined by species physiological mechanism rather than soil contamination. The TFs for Zn, Mn and Fe were much higher compared to those for other metals across mushroom species (Table 6) implying that mushrooms are more likely to accumulate more of these three metals than Pb, Ni and Co.…”

Metal concentration and health risk assessment of wild mushrooms collected from the Black Sea region of Turkey

“…Mushrooms have also been used in traditional Chinese medicine for many years because of its bioactive components such as polysaccharides, proteins, lectins, phenols, and terpenoids (Gong et al 2020). However, in recent years, some studies have been published on the fact that mushrooms collected from highly polluted areas such as mining areas and industrial areas can accumulate a high amount of toxic element and this may pose a serious danger to human health (Aloupi et al 2012;Árvay et al 2015;Borovička et al 2019;Kojta et al 2012). Toxic metals have proven to be a major threat to human health.…”

Earthworms, Rice Straw, and Plant Interactions Change the Organic Connections in Soil and Promote the Decontamination of Cadmium in Soil

“…Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic pollutants because of its non-degradability, persistence in nature, and high toxicity to plants, soil organisms and human beings [ 5 ]. It was reported to negatively affect plant physiological growth [ 6 ], soil organism biomass [ 7 ], and at a given concentration, it may affect humans’ health through the food chain [ 8 ].…”