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

PALAVRAS-CHAVE Manihot esculenta Crantz Cianeto Carotenoides Proteína 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 Pará 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 Pará state, as well as potential for gains in genetic breeding.