Application of Multivariate Techniques for Characterizing Composition of Starches and Sugars in Six High Yielding CMD Resistant Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Varieties

Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa

doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000111

Abstract

High yielding and cassava mosaic disease (CMD) resistant cassava varieties have been developed by the Crop Research Institute of Ghana with varying compositions and concentrations of starches and sugars. This study characterized four of these improved cassava varieties (Ampong, Broni bankye, Sika and Otuhia) together with two traditional varieties (Amakuma and Bankye fitaa) for their composition of starches and sugars using principal component and cluster analyses. The concentration of total sugars, reducing and non-reducing sugars, sucrose, starches, amylose and amylopectin were determined using standard analytical methods. Results obtained were total sugar (4.04-18.47%), non-reducing sugar (2.08-16.21%), sucrose (1.98-15.40%), starch (15.39-31.07%) and amylose (30.57-40.33%) and these were significantly different (p < 0.05) amongst the studied cassava varieties. The improved varieties (Ampong, Broni bankye, Sika and Otuhia) had high total sugar levels ranging from 7.19 to 18.47 %. With the exception of Broni bankye (improved variety) all the improved and traditional varieties were high starch and amylose containing varieties. These differences in the biochemical composition of the traditional and improved cassava varieties could be used in their selection for specific food and industrial processing applications.

Highlights

Cassava (Manihot escutenta, Crantz) is a major staple root crop in many tropical and subtropical developing countries, especially in West Africa
The objective of this work was to apply multivariate techniques to characterize the concentrations of starches and sugars in some traditional and improved high yielding and cassava mosaic disease (CMD) resistant cassava varieties grown in Ghana
Wide variations were observed in the total sugar content of the cassava varieties which ranged between 4.04 % (Bankye fitaa) to 18.47% (Otuhia)

Summary

Introduction

Cassava (Manihot escutenta, Crantz) is a major staple root crop in many tropical and subtropical developing countries, especially in West Africa. Grown in more than 90 countries, it ranks as the 6th most important source of energy in human diets on a worldwide basis and as the third staple food after rice and corn/maize [1,2,3,4]. In this regard, cassava shows very efficient carbohydrate production per hectare. Cassava shows very efficient carbohydrate production per hectare It produces about 250,000 calories/hectare/d, which ranks it before maize, rice, sorghum, and wheat [5]. Roots contain small quantities of sucrose, glucose, fructose, and maltose [9]. Cassava has both sweet and bitter varieties. The root of the sweet cassava varieties is made up of ca. 17% sucrose with small amounts of dextrose and fructose [3,4,5,10,11]

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