Mineral contents of 34 species of wild mushrooms, growing particularly in the central Anatolia region in Turkey, were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). All mushrooms contained high amounts of Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg and P. The highest potassium level was 45189.4 mg kg-1 for the species Coprinus micaceus, whereas the lowest K content was 9973.8 mg kg-1 in Polyporus squamosus. Among the wild mushrooms, the highest lead level was 5.4 mg kg-1 in the species Helvella leucomelano. Iron contents of mushrooms were found in similarly small percentages in all the species analysed, ranging from 338.3 mg kg-1 in Russula delica to 8994.71 mg kg-1 in Helvella spadicea. Phosphorus content ranged from 2095.6 mg kg-1 in Polyporus squamosus to 22799.0 mg kg-1 in Helvella spadicea. Magnesium was found to be high, ranging from 458.1 mg kg-1 in Rhizopogon luteolus to 4254.9 mg kg-1 in Morchella esculenta. This study attempts to contribute to knowledge of the human nutritional properties of these mushroom species, and may be useful for the evaluation of dietary information. © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry.