F.V. Kosikowski

Cassava as a food

This review has attempted to examine information pertaining to the role of cassava (Manihot esculenta) as a major food source for a large part of the world population, particularly the countries of South America, Africa, and Asia, where it is primarily a major source of energy for 300 to 500 million people. Its cultivation, usually on small farms with little technology, is estimated to cover on an annual basis about 11 million hectares providing about 105 million tons, more than half of which is consumed by humans. The importance of cassava as an energy source can be seen by its growing demand in the European economic community countries where it forms up to 60% of the balanced diets for swine. Cassava is one of the crops that converts the greatest amount of solar energy into soluble carbohydrates per unit of area, thus 1 kg of moisture-free cassava meal may yield up to about 3750 kcal which would mean that a yearly production of 15 tons of cassava meal per hectare would yield some 56 million kcal. The major limitations of cassava as food appear to be its poor protein content and quality and the rapid post harvest deterioration of its roots which usually prevents their storage in the fresh state for more than a few days. However, in addition to its use for culinary purposes, cassava finds application in industrial products such as an adhesive for laundry purposes, for manufacturing paper, alcohol, butanol, dextrin, adhesive tape, textile sizing, and glue.

Corn smut as a food source — perspectives on biology, composition, and nutrition

This paper reviews the current status of corn smut as a food source in some areas of Latin America and examines its potential acceptance in other parts of the world. The biological aspects involved in the development of smut on corn are discussed and the success of presently available control measures are reviewed. The evolution of corn smut as a human food is traced from the time of the Aztecs to the present and the toxicological evidence is summarized. The composition of the fresh and processed galls is presented. Research needs and areas of future research on corn smut as a food for humans are suggested.

Extractability and functionality of protein from yeast cells grown on cassava hydrolysate

Abstract An extraction of protein from two strains of yeast, Candida tropicalis and C. utilis , grown by batch method on cassava hydrolysate was carried out by a combination of mechanical and mild chemical treatment yielding about 71% and 68% protein for C. tropicalis and C. utilis , respectively. The process resulted in about 75–80% reduction in the nucleic acid level of the freeze dried whole yeast cells of both organisms. The protein concentrates showed a good amino acid profile comparable to egg protein with methionine and tryptophan as the limiting amino acids. The functional characteristics of the two yeast proteins were studied and compared with soy protein concentrate. They showed functional properties possessing very good wettability, emulsion capacity and whippability but poor emulsion stability.