Cyanogen Content in Bamboo Plants

The emerging succulent bamboo shoots are edible. They are a delicious vegetable item. Bamboo shoots contain the cyanogenic glycoside (taxiphyllin) which is hydrolysed and decomposes to hydroxy benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide (cyanogen). The cyanide present in the fresh and fermented bamboo shoots was analyzed .The cyanide content were found to decrease substantially in the fermented samples below the human toxic level.