Processing Techniques for Reduction of Cyanogenic Glycosides from Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo shoots have a long history of its utilization as food and medicine and are rich in nutrient components such as proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and bioactive compounds. Due to presence of bioactive compounds phenols, phytosterols and dietary fibres, they play a vital role in health promotion as well as prevention of cardiovascular, cancer and chronic diseases. But, due to presence of cyanogenic glycoside i.e. taxiphyllin, the shoots have to be eaten with caution. Cyanogenic glycosides are the bioactive plant products present in many food crops, derived from amino acids. On hydrolysis, they release HCN which cause deleterious effects on human health. Studies revealed that juvenile shoots of bamboo show a variation in cyanogen level depending on species, harvesting age, altitude, rainfall, temperature. Even, different parts (tip, middle, base) of shoots show a large variation in the cyanogen concentrations. As the shoots of some bamboo species contain cyanogen level above the range of permissible limit, they need to be processed before consumption. This paper describes the various processing methods such as peeling, slicing, boiling, soaking, drying and fermentation applied directly or indirectly for the reduction of cyanogen content in the bamboo shoots used for food.