Cassava Flour: Quantification of Cyanide Content

Abstract

Cassava flours are obtained from the roots of Manihot esculenta Crantz and daily fairly consumed by the Brazilian population considering it comes to hum food, and also inserted into food baskets, besides to present low cost and easy access, in addition to being plant easily cultivated by the population. However, the food obtained with cassava may contain hydrocyanic acid, in the form of cyanogenic glycoside when those meals are not cooked properly. The oral toxicity can range 30 -210 mg/kg body, the average daily consumption per capita in larger rural areas than in urban areas for cassava flour 19.1 g against 4.7 g, respectively. Brazil's North and Northeast have higher consumption of cassava flour, associated with family monthly monetary income, making this region more vulnerable to poisoning. The objective of this study was to quantify cyanogenic glycosides present in some types of Brazilian cassava foods by means of spectrophotometric technique (reading at a wavelength of 530 nm). For quantitative determination of cyanide content, linamarase hydrolysis was used. The amount of cyanide was determined, and results were: artisan toasted cassava flour: 15 mg/500g, sweet cassava starch: 32.5 mg/500g, artisan dried cassava flour: 37.5 mg/500g, "bijuzada" cassava flour: 60 mg/500g, industrialized, toasted cassava flour: 115 mg/500g, industrialized, raw cassava flour: 140 mg/500g, and wet cassava flour: 225 mg/500g. Considering the chronic ingestion of cyanide present in these foods, they can cause public health problems.

Sustainable biosurfactant produced by Serratia marcescens UCP 1549 and its suitability for agricultural and marine bioremediation applications

“…Among them, the use of low-cost raw materials such as agro-industrial wastes is a sustainable alternative since the utilization of these residues contributes to the reduction of environmental pollution [6, 8, 13]. A characteristic wastewater from industrial cassava processing has a huge adverse impact on the environment by large amount of cyanogenic glucosides (linamarin and lotaustralin) is produced [14]. Brazil is one of the largest global producers of cassava ( Manihot esculenta Crantz) liquid waste (“manipueira”) whose processing to produce flour and starch gives rise to about 250–300 L wastewater per ton of processed cassava, mainly composed of organic matter and nutrients [15, 16].…”

Growth and Vitamin A Enhancement Effects of Provitamin A β- Carotenoid Cassava (Manihot Esculanta Crantz) UMUCASS38 (IITA-TMS-IBAO114121), in the Practical Diets of Fingerling of African Catfish Heterobranchus longifilis

“…This suggests the ability of the catfish to convert the β-carotene in the cassava to vitamin A in the fish flesh. Channel catfish have been known to convert β-carotene in plant materials into vitamin A [65,66]. It has been noted that Tilapia can biotransform β-carotene and canthaxanthing into vitamin A 1.…”

Technological Innovations for Improving Cassava Production in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…It is important that the levels of cyanogenic glycosides are measured. Several approaches have been used to quantify cyanide potential, including the titration method ( Moriasi et al, 2017 ; Iliya and Madumelu, 2019 ), the alkaline picrate method ( Fukushima et al, 2016 ; Moriasi et al, 2017 ), and the metal-based chemosensors ( Tivana et al, 2014 ). These approaches involved multi-step reactions and necessitate trained personnel.…”