Risk to Humans Posed by Vanadium from Naturally Growing Edible Mushrooms and Topsoils across Leicestershire, UK

Abstract

The aims were: (a) to biomonitor vanadium (V) in wild edible mushrooms collected from urban/rural areas across Leicestershire (England); (b) to characterise the risk to humans caused by its content in topsoils. Thirty-four mushrooms were collected: twenty-two Agaricus bitorquis from a green area close to a busy traffic area; four Marasmius oreades from the NE; and eight Coprinus atramentarius from Bradgate Park, which is northwest of Leicester city. Moreover, 850 topsoil samples were collected and processed as composite samples (eighteen urban and eight rural), which were further processed in duplicate. The level of V was measured twice in each of the 52 composite samples and in the cleaned, dried and homogenised mushrooms by ICP-MS. Significant higher levels of V were found in C. atramentarius (0.856 (0.175–4.338)) than in the edible mushrooms collected in the urban areas (M. oreades, 0.305 (A. bitorquis, 0.078 (<LoD-0.187); the median and range are given in mg/kg dw). The health risk quotients calculated suggested a minimal risk to V if eaten. The presence of V in Leicestershire’s topsoils would also not represent a significant risk for the population.

Keywords

• vanadium
• wild edible mushrooms
• topsoils
• food risks
• human risks
• Leicestershire