Nutritional and Metal Composition of Lepiota procera, Boletus edulis and Boletus badius (Mushroom) Species in Owhelogbo, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria

The proximate and metal composition of Lepiota procera, Boletus edulis and Boletus badius (mushroom) Species in Owhelogbo, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria were studied. The mushroom species were harvested in triplicate in the farmyard, uncultivated land and forest from the host community. Moisture content was determined by drying to a constant weight at 60 80oC in a circulating oven, Oil content was determined by soxhlet extraction with hexane as solvent, protein by the kjeldahl method, and crude fiber by the acid and alkaline digestive methods. The total carbohydrate content was estimated by difference obtained after subtracting protein, fat, water, crude fiber and ash percentage from one hundred. Elemental analysis was done by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results from this study reveal that the mushroom species has high moisture and appreciable carbohydrate content. This could be the reason while mushroom species are susceptible to fungi and bacterial infection, the high protein content, appreciable fibre and ash content could be why mushroom is celebrated as source of powerful nutrients since it provide many of those attribute most commonly found in meat, beans and grains. Datas from this study further reveal that the mushroom species show rich source of Ca, K and Mg with appreciable source of other minerals such as Fe, Na and Mn. Also, the concentration level of metals in the various mushroom species was generally very low. This is an indication that the vegetation under investigation is excellently free from industrial pollutant. As Nigeria is racing toward industrialization, it is thus recommended that the heavy metal levels of edible mushrooms should be analyzed more often in this region in order to evaluate the possible danger to human health from them, bearing in mind that the uptake of metal ions in mushrooms is in many respects different from plants. Hence, the resident government, multinationals, cooperate bodies and individuals should note that no matter their activities, be it synthesizing or analyzing, they should have it at the back of their mind that their immediate environment come first. Their activities is responsible for the level of the various form of contamination witnessed in our various environment.