Cassava foliage contains hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in amounts ranging from 80 to 2000 mg/kg DM, depending on the variety, maturity, fertilizer application and post-harvest processing (Murugesrawi et al., 2006).
Sun-drying appears to be more efficient than oven-drying at 60°C for HCN reduction (Gomez et al., 1985). Wilting also reduced HCN (Chhay Ty et al., 2007). Ensiling is another way to detoxify cassava leaves. The HCN content of fresh cassava leaves was 508 mg/kg DM (Chhay Ty et al., 2005) and was reduced to 70.7 mg/kg DM after ensiling for 21 days with 5% of sugar palm syrup (1:1 of sugar and water) (Chhay Ty et al., 2001). Some varieties are better detoxified by ensiling while sun-drying is more efficient with others (Murugesrawi et al., 2006).