Chemical characterization of roots of bitter cassava sampled in Pará state, Brazil

Francisca Das Chagas Bezerra De Araújo,João Tomé De Farias,Roberto Lisboa Cunha,Elisa Ferreira Moura

doi:10.4322/rca.1821

Abstract

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a plant from the Brazilian Amazonia which presents wide genetic variability. Since it is one of the most consumed foods in the world, efforts to generate more nutritive cultivars are necessary. The objective of the present study was to characterize twenty genotypes of cassava from an Active Germplasm Bank (AGB) in Para state, Brazil, according to physicochemical characteristics of the root: moisture, ashes, total soluble solids, total titratable acidity, pH, total carotenoids, free and total cyanide, total protein, glucose, fructose, sucrose and starch. The values of moisture, ashes and soluble solids ranged from 60.53 to 71.96%, 1.22 to 1.80%, and 2.33 to 3.78%, respectively. Total titratable acidity ranged from 1.83 to 3.35% and pH from 5.68 to 6.50. The concentration of total carotenoids ranged from 2.34 to 9.76 μg g -1 , and total and free cyanide from 177.98 to 691.71 mg kg -1 and 20.29 to 135.19 mg kg -1 , respectively. The protein concentration varied between 0.18 and 0.73%, which was considered low. The sugar figures ranged from 0.17 to 0.53%; 0.03 to 0.39%, and 0.14 to 0.40% for glucose, fructose and sucrose, respectively, and starch ranged from 18.65 to 36.01%. These results indicate a high phenotypic variation for chemical traits in samples of bitter cassava collected in Para state, as well as potential for gains in genetic breeding.

Highlights

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is considered one of the main sources of calories in the tropics, where its roots are transformed in several products
Twenty genotypes of bitter cassava (Table 1) from an Active Germplasm Bank (AGB) established at Pará State were used in this study
The coefficient of variation fluctuated from 1.80% for pH to 33.24% for fructose (Tables 2 to 4)

Summary

Introduction

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is considered one of the main sources of calories in the tropics, where its roots are transformed in several products. It has been long stated that, in developing countries, nutrient-rich genotypes would be a great plus as they could contribute to fill the nutrition needs of populations who lack access to a wide diversity of foodstuff (Nestel et al, 2006). According to cyanogenic glicosides concentration in the roots, cassava is classified in bitter or sweet cassava. Sweet cassava has HCN concentrations below 100 mg HCN kg–1 and bitter cassava show concentration above 100 mg kg–1 HCN (McKey et al, 2010)

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Conclusion