Lead, cadmium and mercury contents and bioaccumulation potential of wild edible saprophytic and ectomycorrhizal mushrooms, Croatia

Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) contents in ten species of edible mushrooms in Trakoscan, Croatia were determined. In addition, the similarity between the studied species was determined by cluster analysis. The cap and stipe of the fruiting bodies were analysed separately. The analyses were carried out by inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The highest mean lead concentration in cap of 1.91 and 1.60 mg kg -1 was determined in cap and stipe of Macrolepiota procera. The highest mean concentration of cadmium (3.23 and 2.24 mg kg-1) was determined in cap and stipe of Agaricus campestris and of mercury (2.56 and 2.35 mg kg-1) in Boletus edulis. In terms of the anatomical part of the fruiting body (cap-stipe), a considerably greater concentration of the analysed elements was found in the cap for all mushroom species. According to calculated bio-concentration factors, all the examined species were found to be bio- accumulators of Cd and Hg. On the basis of the accumulation of the studied metals, great phenotypic similarity of mushroom species belonging to the same genus and partial similarity of species of the same ecological affiliation was obtained by cluster analysis.