DETOXIFICATION OF CASSAVA DURING FERMENTATION WITH A MIXED CULTURE INOCULUM

The efficacy of a mixed culture inoculum in detoxifying intact cassava tuber and peel pieces was investigated. Fermented cassava tuber and peel pieces had more linamarase activity than the non-fermented control samples and this might have resulted partly from the release of endogenous linamarase from the retted tuber/peel pieces and partly due to the microbial linamarase. Approximately 24-26% of the total cyanide remained in the bound form in the fermented tuber while 67-79% existed as bound cyanide in the non-fermented controls. In cassava peels, only 15-33% of total cyanide remained in bound form after 72 h fermentation while 58-59% cyanide existed in bound form in the parallel non-fermented control peels. Free cyanide which could be easily eliminated through sun-drying was present at higher concentrations in the fermented tuber and peel compared with the non-fermented samples. The study showed that cassava tuber and peel could be extensively detoxified through fermentation with a mixed culture inoculum.