a study of the quality of a local herbal tea and volatiles of parinari ...

2.6.4 M. esculenta Cranz
M. esculenta leaves (Figure 2.4) are eaten as a vegetable in Malawi where they are
known as “chigwada”. The leaves are also used as a vegetable in some parts of sub-
Saharan Africa such as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Nigeria and
some Asian countries, the Philipines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Senegal (Mathieu and
Meissa, 2007). Production of cassava leaves as a vegetable for human consumption in
Indonesia is estimated at 0.5-0.7 million tones/year (Wargiono et al., 2007). High
potential of cassava leaf as an unconventional protein resource for both humans and
animals was indicated (Fasuyi, 2005). Organoleptic evaluation rated M. esculenta leaf
soup equal to Amaranthus leaf soup in terms of taste, flavour and overall acceptability
(Awoyinka et al., 1995). The leaves can also be used to treat boils (Matieu and Meissa,
2007). Dougan et al (1983) obtained some volatile components of fresh cassava root by
combined steam distillation/solvent extraction. Aroma-grams for the freshly cooked root
and for two processed products were identified by GC-MS techniques. Fourty compounds
were identified in freshly cooked cassava. The major classes of compounds were
aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic carboxylic acids, aliphatic and aromatic carbonyl
compounds.
Figure 2.4: M. esculenta leaves (local name: chigwada)
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