Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology
An outbreak of acute intoxications from consumption of insufficiently processed cassava in Tanzania
Nutrition Research, Volume 12, No. 6, Year 1992
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
An extensive outbreak of acute intoxications, with nausea and vomiting as major symptoms, occurred in a drought stricken district in southern Tanzania in 1988. Investigations revealed that these effects were due to cyanide intoxication from consumption of insufficiently processed cassava roots, the only crop to survive the drought. High plasma and urine levels of the cyanide metabolite thiocyanate support a high dietary cyanide exposure in the affected population. Due to food shortage the lengthy sun-drying normally used to remove cyanogenic glucosides from roots was replaced by repeated pounding and drying to obtain flour for consumption in one day. An experiment indicates that high residual levels of cyanohydrin, an intermediate breakdown product of the cyanogenic glucoside, was the principal source of dietary cyanide exposure. Cyanohydrins may be easily removed and toxic effects from cassava avoided by application of more effective tissue disintegration and drying techniques. © 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Mlingi, Nicholaus L.V.
Tanzania, Dar es Salaam
Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre
Poulter, Nigel H.
United Kingdom, Chatham
Natural Resources Institute
Rosling, Hans
Sweden, Uppsala
Uppsala Universitet
Statistics
Citations: 135
Authors: 3
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/S0271-5317(05)80565-2
ISSN:
02715317
Research Areas
Environmental
Food Security
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Quantitative
Study Locations
Tanzania