The Amazonian legend of Manà is related to the cult of Manioc, the native staple food that sprang from her grave
ManĂ, a TupĂ myth of origins, is the name of an indigenous girl with very fair complexion. The Amazonian legend of ManĂ is related to the cult of Manioc, the native staple food that sprang from…
Cassava (tapioca) chips have become a major source of ethanol production
In many countries, significant research has begun to evaluate the use of cassava as an ethanol biofuel feedstock. Under the Development Plan for Renewable Energy in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan in the People’s Republic of…
Cassava is used in a number of commercially available laundry products
Cassava is also used in a number of commercially available laundry products, especially as starch for shirts and other garments. Using cassava starch diluted in water and spraying it over fabrics…
Malnutrition may play a role in Tropical ataxic neuropathy (TAN) aka Strachan-Scott Syndrome and prisoners of war neuropathy
Tropical ataxic neuropathy (TAN, also known as Strachan-Scott Syndrome and prisoners of war neuropathy) is a disease or category of diseases that commonly causes disability and increases mortality. The causes of TAN are not…
Cause and Prevention of Konzo
The character of the neurological injury is not clear. The disease onset is associated with high intake of cyanide from a diet of mostly bitter cassava, which is low in…
Signs and symptoms of Konzo
The onset of paralysis (spastic paraparesis) is sudden and symmetrical and affects the legs more than the arms. The resulting disability is permanent but does not progress. Typically, a patient is…
Differential diagnoses for Konzo are lathyrism and paraparesis apparently caused by geographical location or bad genes…go figure
The clinical symptoms are strikingly similar to those of lathyrism and also similar to tropical spastic paraparesis and hereditary spastic paraparesis, only that the latter two disorders have a slow onset. Konzo is distinct from polio which…
Konzo is an epidemic paralytic disease reportedly from simultaneous malnutrition and high dietary cyanide intake
Konzo is an epidemic paralytic disease occurring among hunger-stricken rural populations in Africa where a diet dominated by insufficiently processed cassava results in simultaneous malnutrition and high dietary cyanide intake. Konzo was first described by Giovanni Trolli…
