Linamarase accumulation in cassava leaves (Manihot esculenta Crantz)
1995
Morales, I. | Villegas, Leopoldo
Since the cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is one of the most widely consumed foods in the tropics, we have to consider the toxicity of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) produced by cyanogenic glucosides hydrolysis. In order to contribute to the understanding of the cyanogenesis process in cassava it is necessary to establish a correlation between the linamarase enzymatic activity in the leaves during maduration and the cyanogenic glucosides content in the root parenchyma. Four cultivars were analyzed. The methods used in the analysis were described by Ikediobi, Ongia and Eluwah (Agric. Biol. Chem. 44(12)2803-2809, 1980). The correlation between enzymatic activity in young, fully expanded leaves (1-2 weeks old) and the content of cyanide (CN) in root parenchyma is significantly higher with a correlation of 0.99 and one lower probability of 1 per one thousand (P less than 0.01). In mature leaves (12-14 weeks old) the estimated correlation coefficient is not significant to the level of 70 percent (P more than 0.7). The results suggest that enzyme accumulation in the leaves occurs later in the "bitter" cassava plant, with high cyanogenic content in root parenchyma than in plants with low content of CN in the root parenchyma. This can be interpreted as a later linamarase accumulation of the cassava leaves.
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