Linamarin in cassava leaves and roots: Analysis by LC-MS
- Publication Type
- Poster
- Authors
- Latif, S; Klaiber, I; Müller, J
- Year of publication
- 2013
- Published in
- 6th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Food Analysis, Book of abstracts
- Page (from - to)
- 358
- Conference name
- 6th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Food Analysis
- Conference location
- Prague, Czech Republik
- Conference date
- 5 - 8 November 2013
- Keywords
- cassava
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) leaves and roots are consumed in various parts of the world as a source of protein and starch. However, both cassava leaves and roots contain high amount of toxin called “linamarin”, a cyanogenic glucoside, which causes various diseases or even may cause death to the consumer in severe cases. Cassava leaves and roots are readily available in the exotic shops and are typically consumed as vegetables by African and Asian migrants living in Germany.
A simple and efficient linamarin extraction method was developed and a modified protocol for LC-MS was established for identification and quantification of linamarin by using standard linamarin. As a preliminary study, cassava leaves and roots from the exotic food shop (Stuttgart, Germany) and fresh leaves obtained from the cassava plants grown in the university greenhouse were analyzed for linamarin by using LC-MS method. No linamarin was detected in the cassava leaves (from Vietnam and Cameroon) while a reasonable amount of linamarin (13.12 µg/g on fresh weight basis, FWB) was found in peel of the cassava root obtained from the exotic food shop (Stuttgart, Germany). A high amount of linamarin (127.8 µg/g FWB) was detected in the fresh cassava leaves obtained from the greenhouse.
To the best of our knowledge, no previous report is available on the linamarin analysis in cassava leaves and roots available in Germany. There is a dire need to analyze all cassava based products for antinutrients and toxins in order to make sure that these are within the safe a limit and these products have been properly processed before getting into the market.