Researchers get to the root of cassava's cyanide-producing...( COLUMBUS Ohio Cassava is the third-mo...)

That's a serious problem for the 500 million people who rely on cassava as their main source of calories, among them subsistence farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, said Richard Sayre, a professor of plant biology at Ohio State University. He and his colleague Dimuth Siritunga, a postdoctoral researcher in plant biology at the university, have created cyanogen-free cassava plants. A cyanogen is a substance that induces cyanide production.

Their study appeared in a recent issue of the journal Planta.

Cassava is a hardy plant it can remain in the ground for up to two years and needs relatively little water to survive. It's the key source of carbohydrates for subsistence farmers in Africa. But an unprocessed cassava plant contains potentially toxic levels of a cyanogen called linamarin.

The proper processing of cassava drying, soaking in water, rinsing or baking effectively reduces cassava's linamarin content. But, said Sayre, shortcut processing te
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Contact: Richard Sayre
Sayre.2@osu.edu
614-292 2587
Ohio State University
12-May-2003