The biochemical and toxicological effects of occupational and dietary exposure of humans to cyanide poisoning from large-scale cassava processing and ingestion of cassava foods were investigated using spectrophotometric and enzymatic methods. Analysis of urinary and serum thiocyanate (cyanide metabolite) from workers in cassava processing industries, who were 'frequent' [those who eat cassava f...

BACKGROUND Whereas conventional white cassava roots are devoid of provitamin A, biofortified yellow varieties are naturally rich in β-carotene, the primary provitamin A carotenoid. OBJECTIVE We assessed the effect of consuming yellow cassava on serum retinol concentration in Kenyan schoolchildren with marginal vitamin A status. DESIGN We randomly allocated 342 children aged 5-13 y to receiv...

This study examined the influence of socioeconomic variables of farmers on their choice of cassava varieties in Kogi State of Nigeria. A total of 360 cassava farmers were selected through multi-stage random sampling procedure. Data collected through structured questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics, customer-buying behavioral model and dynamic programming model. The results sh...

This study analyzed the effectiveness of cassava women processors in value addition technologies in Abia State, Nigeria. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select ninety (90) women. Data for the study were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed with descriptive statistics such as: frequency, mean scores and percentages and inferential statistics (Tob...

BACKGROUND Cassava starch, the economically important agricultural commodity in Thailand, can readily be cast into films. However, the cassava starch film is brittle and weak, leading to inadequate mechanical properties. The properties of starch film can be improved by adding plasticizers and blending with the other biopolymers. RESULTS Cassava starch (5%w/v) based films plasticized with glyc...

The maximum daily cassava flour intake of children may be calculated from determination of the total cyanide content of cassava flour and urinary thiocyanate levels of school children in samples collected at the same time and place. Four sites, two with and two without recent konzo cases, were chosen for study. In two sites with recent konzo cases, 84% and 93% of school children consumed cassav...

Retrotransposons are ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes and now proving to be useful genetic tools for genetic diversity and phylogenetic analyses, especially in plants. In order to assess the diversity of Ty1/Copia-like retrotransposons of cassava, we used PCR primers anchored on the conserved domains of reverse transcriptases (RTs) to amplify cassava Ty1/Copia-like RT. The PCR product was clon...

A new strain of Serratia marcescens UCP1459 isolated from a semi-arid soil produced the natural red pigment prodigiosin, characterized by an uncommon pyrrolylpyrromethane skeleton. Prodigiosin is a promising drug due to its reported antifungal, immunosuppressive and anti-proliferative activities. The objective of this work was to indentify a suitable medium to simultaneously enhance S. marcesce...

Introduction The impacts of watershed deforestation on lacustrine environments can dramatically affect the productivity of the littoral zone and strongly influence sedimentation rates. Many watersheds flowing into Lake Tanganyika (3°18’8°47’S, 29°05’ 31°18’E) from northern Kigoma region, Tanzania are currently experiencing the effects of deforestation to accommodate high human population densit...