Exposure to Essential and Toxic Elements via Consumption of Agaricaceae, Amanitaceae, Boletaceae, and Russulaceae Mushrooms from Southern Spain and Northern Morocco

Marta Barea-Sepúlveda; Estrella Espada-Bellido; Marta Ferreiro-González; Hassan Bouziane; José Gerardo López-Castillo; Miguel Palma; Gerardo F Barbero

doi:10.3390/jof8050545

Exposure to Essential and Toxic Elements via Consumption of Agaricaceae, Amanitaceae, Boletaceae, and Russulaceae Mushrooms from Southern Spain and Northern Morocco

J Fungi (Basel). 2022 May 23;8(5):545. doi: 10.3390/jof8050545.

Authors

Marta Barea-Sepúlveda¹, Estrella Espada-Bellido¹, Marta Ferreiro-González¹, Hassan Bouziane², José Gerardo López-Castillo³, Miguel Palma¹, Gerardo F Barbero¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Cadiz, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), IVAGRO, 11510 Puerto Real, CA, Spain.
² Laboratory of Applied Botany, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Mhannech II, Tetouan 2121, Morocco.
³ Unidad de Protección de la Salud, Distrito Sanitario Granada-Metropolitano, Consejería de Salud y Familias, Junta de Andalucía, 18150 Gójar, GR, Spain.

Abstract

The demand and interest in mushrooms, both cultivated and wild, has increased among consumers in recent years due to a better understanding of the benefits of this food. However, the ability of wild edible mushrooms to accumulate essential and toxic elements is well documented. In this study, a total of eight metallic elements and metalloids (chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and selenium (Se)) were determined by ICP-MS in five wild edible mushroom species (Agaricus silvicola, Amanita caesarea, Boletus aereus, Boletus edulis, and Russula cyanoxantha) collected in southern Spain and northern Morocco. Overall, Zn was found to be the predominant element among the studied species, followed by Cu and Se. The multivariate analysis suggested that considerable differences exist in the uptake of the essential and toxic elements determined, linked to species-intrinsic factors. Furthermore, the highest Estimated Daily Intake of Metals (EDIM) values obtained were observed for Zn. The Health Risk Index (HRI) assessment for all the mushroom species studied showed a Hg-related cause of concern due to the frequent consumption of around 300 g of fresh mushrooms per day during the mushrooming season.

Keywords: human health; metallic elements; metalloids; organic food; risk assessment; wild edible mushrooms.

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported by the University of Cadiz, partially through the "Plan Propio UCA 2022-2023 de Apoyo y Estímulo a la Investigación y la Transferencia" and through the Aula Universitaria del Estrecho within the framework of grants for international collaboration projects (Ref. UCA/R62REC/2021): “Mapa del contenido metálico en setas silvestres comercializables del sur de Andalucía y norte de Marruecos” and “Profundización en el estudio y comparativa de compuestos bioactivos en setas”, and (Ref. UCA/R96REC/2018): “001ENE2019” and “002ENE2019”.