THE USE OF CASSAVA PEELS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF AMYLASE USING BACILLUS SPP
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is the third largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics, after rice and maize (Fauquet and Fargette, 1990). History revealed that cassava was introduced to Africa by Portuguese traders from Brazil in the 16th century. Maize and cassava are now important staple foods, replacing native African crops (FAO, 2001). Cassava is sometimes described as the bread of the tropics (Adams et al., 2009). But should not be confused with the tropical and equatorial bread free (Encephalartos), the breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) or the African breadfruit (Treculia africana). Nigerian is the world’s largest producer of cassava. However, based on
the statistics from food agriculture organization (FAO), United Nation of Thailand is the largest exporting country of dried cassava, with a total of 77% of world export in 2015. The second largest exporting country is Vietnam, with 13.6%, followed by Indonesia (5.8% and Costa Rica (2.1%). Worldwide cassava production increased by 12.5% between 1998 and 1990. Cassava has been a raw material globally for industrial production of textiles, papers, adhesives, pharmaceutical and various food products because it is rich in carbohydrate with high energy density and has generated great impact in world economics (Aigbe and Remison, 2010).
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Class: Angiosperm
Unranked: Eudicots
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Subfamily: Crotonoideae
Genus: Manihot
Species: Manihot esculenta
In the vernacular languages of places where it is cultivated, Nigeria for example, cassava is called Akpu (Igbo), Paki/Ege (Yoruba) and Rogo (Hausa). Cassava root contains about 30% starch and significant amount of calcium (50 mg/100 g), phosphorus (40 mg/100 g) and vitamin C (25mg /100 g). Various food applications take advantages of cassava starch’s odourless, clear paste and high freeze – thaw stability properties. Starchy cassava roots can be processed into
