A study on toxicity of hydrogen cyanide from cyanogenic plants

Date

10-1982

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Chemistry

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Nieva T. Librojo

Abstract

Five cyanogenic plant species were analyzed for cyanide content. Among the five species analyzed, cassava yielded the highest value of 1.671 mg HCN per 100 grams tuber. Cooking by boiling reduced the HCN contents of the plants by 62 to 90%. The method or analysis was aeration for 16 hours and titration with standard silver nitrate solution is the pressure of dithizone.

Feeding of chicken with sweet potato diet added with 4 ppm HCN in the drinking water significantly decreased weight gains. Lowering of protein quality in the feed due to the utilization of sulfur donors in the detoxication of cyanide to thiocyanate via the rhodanese process may have caused this weight reduction.

Serum analysis showed that HCN treatment did not significantly increase thiocyanate level. Thiocyanate excretion was found to increase with increase in the level of HCN administered. Serum thiocyanate level suggested that sweet potato is not goitrogenic.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

LG 993.5 1982 A13 P33

Document Type

Thesis

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