Utilization of Modified Cassava Flour and its By-Products

Cassava is an important component in the diets of more than 800 million people around the world. It is kind of tropic and sub-tropic plant. It is able to grow in less-nutrition soil. In a dry land, cassava sheds its leaves to keep it damp and produces new leaves in the rainy season. Otherwise, cassava can not survive in cold weather but it can grow very well in the area with pH 4-8. Cassava needs at least 5 months in the summer for producing ripe cassava. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the proximate composition, production, application, and modification process of cassava roots as well as their future perspective. The typical important parameters for proximate composition of cassava are protein, lipids, fibre, starch, cyanide acid and ash contents. The carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio) of dried fresh cassava roots is also important parameter for microbial activities within fermentation process. The development of new utilization techniques of cassava roots has gained increasing importance in chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries, due to their content of economically-valuable compounds, the necessity of environmental friendly process, global food and energy security. There are several different methodologies for enhancing detoxification and improving the quality of cassava flour, such as fermentation process (liquid, solid state, submerged, culture and spontaneous fermentations), different microorganisms (yeast, fungi and bacteria) and different additional nutrients (with and without nutrients). Moreover, lactid acid is produced as by-product during the fermentation. This is also interesting topic due to the potential application of lactic acid for the production of biodegradable polymers. Another, the analysis methods of the compounds in cassava roots are also a challenging work. Few analytical methods are available to provide a detailed and simpler analysis. It is of great interest if new utilization of cassava roots and analysis methods of the compounds in cassava roots are available to establish all products during the fermentation.