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.
Highlights
Manihot esculenta Crantz, commonly known as cassava, is a plant belonging to the class Malpighiales, Family Euphorbiceae, and genus Manihot
As cassava is a highly important food that may be grown in the most different parts of the country, and considering that Brazilian feeding habits involve cassava in different forms, such as flours; and that both chronic and acute ingestion may cause several diseases in men and animals, the objective of this study is to quantify cyanogenic glycosides found in different types of commercially available cassava flours
Among the different types of cassava flour analyzed, wet cassava flour showed the higher concentration of cyanide (225 mg/500g)
Summary
Manihot esculenta Crantz, commonly known as cassava, is a plant belonging to the class Malpighiales, Family Euphorbiceae, and genus Manihot. It is a plant of great economic interest, mainly in developing countries, as it has an important role as human food. Brazil is the second greatest world producer among 100 countries that grow cassava, and is responsible for 10% of the world production. Cassava is grown in all Brazilian regions, and it is used as raw material for cassava products [1]. From the 98 known species of the family Euphorbiceae, cassava is the only one that is grown as food [2]. Cassava roots are energetic foods, presenting high levels of carbohydrates, mainly polysaccharides. Cassava has an average composition of 68.2% moisture, 30.0% starch, 2.0% ash, 1.3% protein, 0.2% fat, and 0.3% fiber [3]
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