An automated enzymatic assay for determining the cyanide content of cassava (Manihot esculenta) and cassava products

Abstract

An automated enzymic method for the analysis of cyanide in cassava and cassava products is described. A total of 300 analyses a day can be handled easily. A wide range of free (nonglycosidic) or bound (cyano‐substituted glycosides) cyanides (0.4–40 μg HCN ml−1) can be assayed in the extracted solutions. The upper limit of detection for the bound cyanide can easily be increased by another three‐fold by assaying it under partial hydrolysis conditions. The two enzymic methods, manual and automated on Technicon's AutoAnalyzer, agreed well for the free and the bound cyanide in the leaf and the peeled storage root samples.