A Research Article Written By Mohamed Y A Bedaiwy, Yehia A-G Mahmoud:
The determination of trace metal elements in fungi is important from an economic point of view since fungi are used for human or animal consumption and/or as biofertilizers for plants. Furthermore, trace metal concentrations could be a good
indicator for soil health and contamination due to human interference. The present study determined the silver, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, nickel, lead, selenium, zinc and aluminium concentrations in the sporocarps of wild Ganoderma resinaceum, Bjerkandera adusta, Ganoderma applanatum, Inonotus radiatus and Abortiporus biennis collected from Gharbia Governorate, Egypt, during 2017-2018. The highest zinc concentrations, i.e., values of 39.10 and 42.35 mg kg were recorded in fungi sporocarps gathered from the Zefta and Alsantah urban areas of Gharbia Governorate, respectively. Neither cadmium nor cobalt was observed in the sporocarps of the five species gathered during this investigation period. The aluminium contents of the five studied higher fungi species were higher than the other trace metals contents of these fungi, reaching 3058 mg kg dry weight, which might indicate a high risk of contamination with aluminium metals within the air or soil of cities inside Gharbia Governorate, Egypt.