Toxic elements and trace elements in Macrolepiota procera mushrooms from southern Spain and northern Morocco.

Anthropogenic activities, such as mining and fossil fuel combustion, produce large amounts of pollutants that affect environmental homeostasis. Wild edible mushrooms fructify exposed to environmental conditions, proving to be efficient accumulators of trace elements and toxic and potentially toxic elements. Due to the increasing consumption of mushrooms worldwide, this is of public health concern. In this work, the total content of chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and selenium (Se) was determined by ICP-MS in the caps and stipes of the high valued wild edible mushroom Macrolepiota procera collected in several locations of the South of Spain and the North of Morocco. The results obtained have indicated that the cap of M. procera contains a broad spectrum of both toxic elements and trace elements, occurring in higher contents in this part of the fruiting body with respect to the stipe. Moreover, Cu...