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ABSTRACT
Garri is a staple food prepared from the roots of cassava (Manihot esculenta crantz). Its importance in bridging the food gap in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. However, garri have been known to contain residual cyanide which is harmful to humans. The effect of cyanide was determined using Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) as the model organisms. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of garri extract supplementation on Drosophila melanogaster. The cyanide content of the three samples of garri collected were determined using the picrate method of cyanide determination.Cassava samples were collected from three markets, yellow garri (sample A) at Ekiosa market in Oredo Local Government with a cyanide concentration of 21.13 ug/ml, deep yellow garri (sample B) at New Benin market in Ikpoba Okha Local Government with a cyanide concentration of 12.19 ug/ml and white garri (sample C) at Uselu market in Egor Local Government Area with a cyanide concentration of 24.52 ug/ml, Edo State. Sample B from New Benin market was used for the survival study, flies were fed on varying concentrations of garri extract-corn meal diet for 21 days. The meal was changed every 5 days. Survival of the flies was noted by taking daily readings of the number of death in each treatment vial, and the assay was used to estimate their survival rate. For the garri extract treatment, three treatment groups with varying concentrations of garri extract in the diet were set up excluding the control. Group 1 was fed with 1g/100ml garri extract with a cyanide concentration of 2.466 ug/ml, group 2 was fed with 10 g/100 ml garri extract with a cyanide concentration of 12.537 ug/ml and group 3 was fed with 100g/100ml garri extract with a cyanide concentration of 36.613 ug/ml. Group 4 was the control containing no garri extract treatment. 200ul of each groups were incorporated into the drosophila meal. Each treatment vial had 30 Drosophila melanogaster flies, and the flies were allowed to feed on the meal all through the course of the study whilst being renewed every 5 days. The numbers of death each day were recorded. The survival rate of flies fed with no garri extract which was the control (C) group was highest (79%), followed by those fed with 1g/100ml (X) garri extract (63.3%), followed by those fed on 10g/100ml (Y) and 100 g/100 ml (Z) at 54.3% and 46.6% respectively. This shows that garri do have some negative effect on exposure to the model organism. There is need for close monitoring of cassava processing to reduce cyanide levels in food products and raising public awareness about garri's potential health risks.
