ESSENTIAL AND NONESSENTIAL METAL CONCENTRATIONS IN MOREL MUSHROOM (MORCHELLA ESCULENTA) IN DIR-KOHISTAN, PAKISTAN

Dir-Kohistan (Pakistan) is a famous habitat of morel mushroom species and particularly rich with yellow morel (Morchella esculenta). This study was conducted to investigate both essential and non-essential metal concentrations in M. esculenta and soil collected from the study area. Results indicated that M. esculenta accumulated enough amounts of essential metals (Na, K, Ca, Fe and Zn). The nonessential metal concentrations in M. esculenta were below the maximum permissible limits set by WHO/FAO. Low concentrations of nonessential/toxic metals in mushroom could be linked with low human activities such as less application of agrochemicals and no mining activities in the study area. The daily intake rate (DIR) of M. esculenta showed that toxic metals were not a serious threat to the human health due to less edible uses and lower concentrations of toxic heavy metals. Statistical analyses, like inter-elemental coefficient, revealed a positive correlation between the selected metals, while weak linear correlations were observed between the essential and toxic metals in M. esculenta and associated soil.