A preliminary study on the action of cassava on thyroid iodine metabolism in rats

Abstract

1. The ingestion of cassava ( Manihot esculenta Crantz ) by rats increased the plasma thiocyanate concentration and reduced the thyroid iodine content and the plasma protein-bound iodine. 2. Administration of increasing doses of thiocyanate raised the plasma thiocyanate concentration and reduced the thyroid iodine content and the plasma protein-bound iodine.3. In producing these effects, the daily ingestion of 10 g cassava root containing 1·6 mg cyanide was approximately equivalent to a daily intake of about 1–2 mg thiocyanate.4. These results suggest that the antithyroid action of cassava is the result of the production of thiocyanate by the rat from cyanide arising from the cyanogenic glucosides present in this food.