cassava poisoning
27 students in mabini, bohol died and more than 60 are in the hospital after eating fried cassava with caramelized sugar [cyanide eyed in bohol poisoning]. the students suffered major stomach cramps and vomiting a lot after eating the said cassava native delicacies. state of calamity is decalred in the stricken area.
cassava or balanghoy/bulanghoy [in visayan dialect] or kamoteng kahoy [in tagalog] is the third most important food in tropical countries. mostly widely grown in all agricultural lands in our country because it doesn’t need as much attention as any other rootcrops. in fact it can grow well even in poor soils and needs relatively little water to survive.
its economical value cannot be disregard aside from being considered as staple food during lean and typhoon months. cassava can be processed into starch, noodles, seasoning and sweets. it is also used as a substitute in the processing of animal food. it can also be made into pellets, chips and pearl. the chips can be used for alcohol production. it is also now used to produce biodegradable plastics and some medical, horticultural and sporting good products.
it’s not actually new to me that cassava can be a poisonous plant. when i was a just a kid, two of my friends died because of eating [grilled] not to well cooked cassava. since that, my mother remind not to eat grilled cassava and if we buy cassava native delicacies to check if its well done. and it’s good if its overly cooked she said.
i didn’t know then why cassava could be poisonous, not until today. this is not actually taught in school not even in our chemistry class.
cassava roots and leaves of poorly processed cassava plants contain a substance that, when eaten, can trigger the production of cyanide. an unprocessed cassava plant contains potentially toxic levels of cyanogens called linamarin. actually cassava contains two cyanogens substance, the other one is lotaustralin. since linamarin accounts more percentage of 80%, linamarin is susceptible to be more toxic.
linamarin protects cassava from being eaten by insects or animals. cassava leaves contains more linamarin than roots. this cyanogens substance is important in the transport of nitrogen from cassava leaves to its roots in young plants. so linamarin is transported from the leaves to the roots early in a plant’s life which makes also the roots to contain the cyanogens substance.
the proper processing of cassava – drying, soaking in water, rinsing or baking – effectively reduces casssava’s linamarin content. cyanide forms when cassava is processed. but the toxin is volatile and is released into the air, rather than remaining in the food. correct processing methods ensure that the cyanogens content in cassava plants will be within acceptable range.
linamarin is converted to cyanide when eaten, it has been reported that linamarin is enzymatically converted to cyanide by bacteria in the intestine, and this is absorbed into the blood and then damages neural cells which results death.
but the human body has a natural ability to detoxify small quantities of cyanide, and there is normally a small amount of cyanide and its breakdown products in the body as a result of everyday activities. these activities may include the metabolism of vitamin b12, eating foods naturally containing cyanide (lima beans, coffee, cassava and table salt), exposure to automobile exhaust and smoking cigarettes. in some form, we are exposed to low levels of natural and manmade cyanide everyday without direct major risk to our health.
cassava or balanghoy/bulanghoy [in visayan dialect] or kamoteng kahoy [in tagalog] is the third most important food in tropical countries. mostly widely grown in all agricultural lands in our country because it doesn’t need as much attention as any other rootcrops. in fact it can grow well even in poor soils and needs relatively little water to survive.
its economical value cannot be disregard aside from being considered as staple food during lean and typhoon months. cassava can be processed into starch, noodles, seasoning and sweets. it is also used as a substitute in the processing of animal food. it can also be made into pellets, chips and pearl. the chips can be used for alcohol production. it is also now used to produce biodegradable plastics and some medical, horticultural and sporting good products.
it’s not actually new to me that cassava can be a poisonous plant. when i was a just a kid, two of my friends died because of eating [grilled] not to well cooked cassava. since that, my mother remind not to eat grilled cassava and if we buy cassava native delicacies to check if its well done. and it’s good if its overly cooked she said.
i didn’t know then why cassava could be poisonous, not until today. this is not actually taught in school not even in our chemistry class.
cassava roots and leaves of poorly processed cassava plants contain a substance that, when eaten, can trigger the production of cyanide. an unprocessed cassava plant contains potentially toxic levels of cyanogens called linamarin. actually cassava contains two cyanogens substance, the other one is lotaustralin. since linamarin accounts more percentage of 80%, linamarin is susceptible to be more toxic.
linamarin protects cassava from being eaten by insects or animals. cassava leaves contains more linamarin than roots. this cyanogens substance is important in the transport of nitrogen from cassava leaves to its roots in young plants. so linamarin is transported from the leaves to the roots early in a plant’s life which makes also the roots to contain the cyanogens substance.
the proper processing of cassava – drying, soaking in water, rinsing or baking – effectively reduces casssava’s linamarin content. cyanide forms when cassava is processed. but the toxin is volatile and is released into the air, rather than remaining in the food. correct processing methods ensure that the cyanogens content in cassava plants will be within acceptable range.
linamarin is converted to cyanide when eaten, it has been reported that linamarin is enzymatically converted to cyanide by bacteria in the intestine, and this is absorbed into the blood and then damages neural cells which results death.
but the human body has a natural ability to detoxify small quantities of cyanide, and there is normally a small amount of cyanide and its breakdown products in the body as a result of everyday activities. these activities may include the metabolism of vitamin b12, eating foods naturally containing cyanide (lima beans, coffee, cassava and table salt), exposure to automobile exhaust and smoking cigarettes. in some form, we are exposed to low levels of natural and manmade cyanide everyday without direct major risk to our health.
posted by touchkey badzkey at 12:03 PM
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