EFFECT OF CHILLING TEMPERATURE ON THE DIGESTIBILITY OF CASSAVA STARCH

EFFECT OF CHILLING TEMPERATURE ON THE DIGESTIBILITY OF CASSAVA STARCH

Chapter one

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta, Crantz), often known as manioc, tapioca, or yucca, is one of the most important food crops in the humid tropics, adapted to low nutrient availability and drought resistance. It is a dicotyledonous plant from the Euphorbiaceae family (Alves, 2002).

It is a perennial shrub that grows to a height of 2 to 4 feet and is mostly propagated through stem cuttings. It is a widely produced crop in most tropical countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and it is one of the most important crops in these areas.

Cassava is grown in a wide range of temperatures, elevations, and soils. Cassava is drought-tolerant and prolific in poor soil where other main crops cannot thrive (Bradbury and Holloway, 1988).

Cassava produces more carbohydrates than rice and maize, making it the cheapest source of calories for both human and animal consumption. More than two-thirds of cassava production is used for human consumption, with smaller amounts used for animal feed and industrial use.

Nigeria alone currently produces more than 14 million tonnes per year, accounting for around 25% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s output.

Although cassava is the third most important food source in the tropical world after rice and maize, providing calories for over 160 million Africans, the endogenous presence of cyanogenic glucosides significantly reduces its nutritional value.

The crop’s propensity to survive in drought makes it one of the easiest crops to cultivate even when rainfall is irregular. According to Udofia et al. (2010), cassava provides more than 500 million individuals worldwide with their daily carbohydrate intake. There are two primary challenges with cassava utilisation.

The first is that cassava root is highly perishable and cannot be stored fresh for more than three days after harvesting. Physiological degeneration of the root occurs 2-3 days after harvesting, followed by microbial deterioration in 3-5 days (Akingbala et al., 2005).

However, the study primarily investigates the influence of chilling temperature on cassava starch digestibility.