Heavy metals (HMs) contaminate the environment and pose serious health risks to humans by accumulating in ecosystems, leading to toxicity and various diseases. In Mizoram, HMs pollution is a growing concern, with increasing research on contamination in various environmental sources. Present study aim to evaluate the HMs content in wild mushrooms collected from two different districts in Mizoram, India. Trichaptum biforme and Polyporus philippinensis were collected from Dampa Tiger Reserve (DTR), Mamit and Cantharellus tropicalis and Coprinellus disseminatus were collected from Lalsavunga Park (LP), Aizawl. The collected samples were identified based on standard mycotaxonomical methods and molecular analysis. Four species were evaluated for their cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) content and two species were assessed for their health risk associated with consumption of HMs. The ranges of element contents for cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) were found to be 0.19 - 0.92, 4.77 - 24, 0.24 - 1.61, 0.23 - 1.84, 9.5 - 30.9 µg/ g dried weight, respectively. The amount of Cd content was found to be over the safety limits values and can cause adverse health effects when consumed regularly. Wild edible mushrooms are valuable nutraceutical foods, but careful collection is essential to avoid health risks from HM contamination.
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