Crantz.Family: Euphorbiaceae.
Habitat: Native to Brazil. Major crop in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
English: Manioc, Tapioca, Cassava.Siddha/Tamil: Maravalli kizhangu, Ezhalai kizhangu.Folk: Tapioca.Action: Staple food for poorer section of the population in many tropical countries. The starch is used for the manufacture of dextose, liquid glucose. The bitter variety is used for treating scabies and weeping skin.
The tuber is a good source of provitamin A carotenoids. It contains 0.1-3.0 mg/kg (fresh weight) of beta- carotene and 0.05-00.6 mg/kg (fresh weight) of lutein. The bitterness of the tuber is related to the cyanoglu- coside content which ranges from 320 to 1,100 mcg cyanide/g in very bitter tubers and from 27.5 to 77.5 mcg is non-bitter tubers. Boiling, crushing and sun-drying reduce bitterness and also cyanoglucoside content. The tannin equivalent content in the clones varies from 0.31 to 0.34% and saponin equivalent varies from 0.18 to 0.29%.Feeding tapioca significantly reduced the plasma cholesterol profile experimentally in cats and rats.
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