Healthier cassava

Cassava is a very important food crop in the tropical part of the world, where the roots, and sometimes the leaves, are part of the daily meal for millions of people. However, the roots contain cyanogenic glucosides, namely cyanide compounds that turn into cyanide when the root is being processed for eating. Therefore, the roots are shredded, washed, boiled and dried to remove the toxins, this proces ufortunately also removes the little vitamins and most of the proteins that were in the root. And you are left with – starch. In our research, we have succeeded in producing a genetically improved cassava plant with a greater level of proteins, and with the genes responsible for producing the cyanide compounds being repressed in cassava plants with a high content of vitamin A This plant is now ready to be tested in outdoor facilities, and if it proves to be suited for ordinary cultivation, it could improve the nutritional state for millions of people worldwide.

 

More info: contact Associate Professor Kirsten Jørgensen or Professor Birger Lindberg Møller