Bitter taste in cassava roots correlates with cyanogenic glucoside levels

Cassava roots contain cyanogenic glucosides. Malawian farmers classify cultivars into two groups based on the perceived danger of eating raw roots that they associate with bitterness. In the vernacular, cultivars that produce roots with bitter taste are called vyakubaba (bitter), whereas those yield...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Chiwona-Karltun, L., Brimer, L., Kalenga Saka, J.D., Mhone, A.R., Mkumbira, J., Johansson, L., Bokanga, M., Mahungu, N.M., Rosling, H.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2004
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/96427
_version_ 1855526298531659776
author Chiwona-Karltun, L.
Brimer, L.
Kalenga Saka, J.D.
Mhone, A.R.
Mkumbira, J.
Johansson, L.
Bokanga, M.
Mahungu, N.M.
Rosling, H.
author_browse Bokanga, M.
Brimer, L.
Chiwona-Karltun, L.
Johansson, L.
Kalenga Saka, J.D.
Mahungu, N.M.
Mhone, A.R.
Mkumbira, J.
Rosling, H.
author_facet Chiwona-Karltun, L.
Brimer, L.
Kalenga Saka, J.D.
Mhone, A.R.
Mkumbira, J.
Johansson, L.
Bokanga, M.
Mahungu, N.M.
Rosling, H.
author_sort Chiwona-Karltun, L.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Cassava roots contain cyanogenic glucosides. Malawian farmers classify cultivars into two groups based on the perceived danger of eating raw roots that they associate with bitterness. In the vernacular, cultivars that produce roots with bitter taste are called vyakubaba (bitter), whereas those yielding non-bitter roots are called vyakuzizra (cool). In the scientific literature they are distinguished as ‘bitter’ or ‘sweet’. Roots from ‘bitter’ cultivars are processed prior to consumption. We studied the ability of farmers to predict the cyanogenic glucoside levels of 492 roots from the 10 most commonly grown cultivars. Twenty-eight farmers predicted the taste of each of the cultivars that they grew, and scored bitterness on a five-point scale by tasting the root tip. Thereafter cyanogenic glucosides were determined on half of the root, while a taste panel scored the taste of the other half. The mean cyanogenic glucoside level in 132 roots from ‘cool’ cultivars was 29 mg HCN eq kg−1 fresh weight (CI 25–33, range 1–123) and in 360 roots from ‘bitter’ cultivars was 153 mg HCN eq kg−1 fresh weight (CI 143–163, range 22–661). Farmers' distinction of ‘cool’ and ‘bitter’ cultivars predicts glucoside levels. The tasting of the tip of the root improved the farmers' prediction of toxicity. Scoring of bitterness by a trained taste panel showed a stronger correlation with glucoside levels (r2 = 0.67). This suggests that cyanogenic glucosides confer the bitter taste, notwithstanding the probability of additional modifying intrinsic factors.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace96427
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2004
publishDateRange 2004
publishDateSort 2004
publisher Wiley
publisherStr Wiley
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace964272025-12-08T09:54:28Z Bitter taste in cassava roots correlates with cyanogenic glucoside levels Chiwona-Karltun, L. Brimer, L. Kalenga Saka, J.D. Mhone, A.R. Mkumbira, J. Johansson, L. Bokanga, M. Mahungu, N.M. Rosling, H. cassava cyanogenic glycosides roots cultivars farmers malawi Cassava roots contain cyanogenic glucosides. Malawian farmers classify cultivars into two groups based on the perceived danger of eating raw roots that they associate with bitterness. In the vernacular, cultivars that produce roots with bitter taste are called vyakubaba (bitter), whereas those yielding non-bitter roots are called vyakuzizra (cool). In the scientific literature they are distinguished as ‘bitter’ or ‘sweet’. Roots from ‘bitter’ cultivars are processed prior to consumption. We studied the ability of farmers to predict the cyanogenic glucoside levels of 492 roots from the 10 most commonly grown cultivars. Twenty-eight farmers predicted the taste of each of the cultivars that they grew, and scored bitterness on a five-point scale by tasting the root tip. Thereafter cyanogenic glucosides were determined on half of the root, while a taste panel scored the taste of the other half. The mean cyanogenic glucoside level in 132 roots from ‘cool’ cultivars was 29 mg HCN eq kg−1 fresh weight (CI 25–33, range 1–123) and in 360 roots from ‘bitter’ cultivars was 153 mg HCN eq kg−1 fresh weight (CI 143–163, range 22–661). Farmers' distinction of ‘cool’ and ‘bitter’ cultivars predicts glucoside levels. The tasting of the tip of the root improved the farmers' prediction of toxicity. Scoring of bitterness by a trained taste panel showed a stronger correlation with glucoside levels (r2 = 0.67). This suggests that cyanogenic glucosides confer the bitter taste, notwithstanding the probability of additional modifying intrinsic factors. 2004-04-30 2018-08-09T06:40:41Z 2018-08-09T06:40:41Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/96427 en Limited Access Wiley Chiwona‐Karltun, L., Brimer, L., Kalenga Saka, J.D., Mhone, A.R., Mkumbira, J., Johansson, L., ... & Rosling, H. (2004). Bitter taste in cassava roots correlates with cyanogenic glucoside levels. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 84(6), 581-590.
spellingShingle cassava
cyanogenic glycosides
roots
cultivars
farmers
malawi
Chiwona-Karltun, L.
Brimer, L.
Kalenga Saka, J.D.
Mhone, A.R.
Mkumbira, J.
Johansson, L.
Bokanga, M.
Mahungu, N.M.
Rosling, H.
Bitter taste in cassava roots correlates with cyanogenic glucoside levels
title Bitter taste in cassava roots correlates with cyanogenic glucoside levels
title_full Bitter taste in cassava roots correlates with cyanogenic glucoside levels
title_fullStr Bitter taste in cassava roots correlates with cyanogenic glucoside levels
title_full_unstemmed Bitter taste in cassava roots correlates with cyanogenic glucoside levels
title_short Bitter taste in cassava roots correlates with cyanogenic glucoside levels
title_sort bitter taste in cassava roots correlates with cyanogenic glucoside levels
topic cassava
cyanogenic glycosides
roots
cultivars
farmers
malawi
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/96427
work_keys_str_mv AT chiwonakarltunl bittertasteincassavarootscorrelateswithcyanogenicglucosidelevels
AT brimerl bittertasteincassavarootscorrelateswithcyanogenicglucosidelevels
AT kalengasakajd bittertasteincassavarootscorrelateswithcyanogenicglucosidelevels
AT mhonear bittertasteincassavarootscorrelateswithcyanogenicglucosidelevels
AT mkumbiraj bittertasteincassavarootscorrelateswithcyanogenicglucosidelevels
AT johanssonl bittertasteincassavarootscorrelateswithcyanogenicglucosidelevels
AT bokangam bittertasteincassavarootscorrelateswithcyanogenicglucosidelevels
AT mahungunm bittertasteincassavarootscorrelateswithcyanogenicglucosidelevels
AT roslingh bittertasteincassavarootscorrelateswithcyanogenicglucosidelevels