Cassava root diet induces low pyruvate levels
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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Small-Scale Colorimetric Assays of Intracellular Lactate and Pyruvate in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: October 15, 2018
1vkgolay@gmail.com
Abstract:
The high cyanogenic-glucoside carbohydrate of the cassava root (Manihot esculenta) has special properties that make it an ideal therapeutic food for lowering nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide reduced form (NADH) and inducing Sirtuin (Sirt) gene overexpression when eaten in an exclusive mono-food diet regime. The author, using himself as the sole test subject, repeatedly induced low pyruvate levels (reflective of NADH levels) after being on the diet for 1-2 weeks at a time. The possible influences of exclusive cassava dieting on redox control and Sirtuin activation will be discussed.
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