The industrial applications of cassava: current status, opportunities and prospects

Abstract

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a drought-tolerant, staple food crop that is grown in tropical and subtropical areas. As an important raw material, cassava is a valuable food source in developing countries, and extensively employed for producing starch, bioethanol and other bio-based products (e.g., feed, medicine, cosmetics, and biopolymers). In addition, these cassava-based industries also generate large quantities of wastes/residues, rich in organic matter and suspended solids, providing a great potential for bioconversion into value-added products via bio-refinery. However, the community of cassava researchers is relatively small, and there is very limited information on cassava. Therefore, this review provides an overview of the current knowledge of the system biology, economic value, nutritional quality and industrial applications of cassava and its wastes, allowing us to accelerate understanding of basic biology of cassava. Meanwhile, it also discusses future perspectives with respect to integrating and utilizing cassava information resources for increasing the economic and environmental sustainability to cassava industries.