## 2 Materials and Methods
### Quality Analysis  
For quality measurement, all analyses were conducted in triplicate, except for amino acids, which were analyzed once for each drying run. The CIE color values, including lightness (L*), green-red color (a*), and blue-yellow color (b*), of the dried sample were measured using a color meter (ColorFlex EZ, HunterLab, Reston, VA, USA). Hue angle (h\({}^{\circ}\)) and chroma (C*) were then calculated. Water activity (a\({}_{\text{w}}\)) was measured using a water activity meter (AQUALAB 4 TE Meter, Pullman, WA, USA). The moisture content was determined by drying in a hot-air oven (FD53, Binder, Tuttlingen, Germany) at 105 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 24 h [19]. The total cyanide was measured using picrate paper kits [20], and crude proteins were analyzed using the Kjeldahl method [19]. Amino acid profiles were analyzed following the European Commission regulation VO (EC) Nr. 152/2009 III F for all amino acids, except tryptophan, which was analyzed using the VO (EC) Nr. 152/2009 III G method [21]. The analysis was performed using liquid ion exchange chromatography systems (Biochrom30, Biochrom, Cambridge, UK) at the Core Facility Hohenheim (CFH), Stuttgart, Germany.  
Bioactive compounds, \(\beta\)-Carotene, lutein, chlorophyll-\(a\), and chlorophyll-\(b\), were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) according to the method of [PERSON] et al. [22], with some modifications, as described in a previous study [3]. Standard reagents \(\beta\)-carotene, lutein, chlorophyll-\(a\), and chlorophyll-\(b\) were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich and prepared in acetone at concentrations 0 to 100 mg/kg. The leaf samples (1 g fresh or 0.5 g dried) were extracted with 30 mL of acetone at 35-40 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 90 min in an ultrasonic bath (T780/H, Transsonic, Elma, Germany). The mixture was filtered through a 0.45 \(\upmu\)m PTFE filter before HPLC analysis. The HPLC system (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan) included an LC-20 AT pump, DGU-20A degassing unit, SIL-20A HT autosampler, SPD-M20A UV detector, CBM-20A controller, and CTO-20A column oven. Separation was performed using a C30 column (Stability 100, 5 \(\upmu\)m, 250 mm \(\times\) 4.6 mm I.D.) with a guard column (ST15.30.S2546, [PERSON], Ammerbuch, Germany) at 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C. The mobile phase consisted of 75% methanol (solvent A) and 100% ethyl acetate (solvent B). The gradient flow (1.0 mL/min) was set as follows: 0-15 min, 30-90% B; 15-20 min, 90-30% B; followed by a constant 30% B until the end of the run at 25 min. A photodiode array detector at 450 nm measured the peak areas for quantification. Vitamin C was determined using HPLC (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan) according to the method of [PERSON] et al. [23]. Each sample of cassava leaves (1 g fresh or 0.5 g dried) was placed in a small mortar with 5 mL of extraction solution containing 10% (\(w/v\)) perchloric acid and 1% (\(w/v\)) meta-phosphoric acid. The sample was crushed for 2 min; then, another 15 mL of the extraction solution was added, and it was left for 10 min. The sample was centrifuged (Sorvall RC6 superspeed centrifuge, Kendro, Hanau, Germany) for 10 min at 4 \({}^{\circ}\)C and 15,000 rpm. The solutions were then filtered through a 0.45 \(\upmu\)m nylon membrane. The components were separated using a Luna C18(2) 100A column (5 \(\upmu\)m, 250 mm \(\times\) 4.6 mm I.D.) (Phenomenex, Torrance, CA, USA). The mobile phase consisted of 20 mM ammonium dihydrogen phosphate mixed with 0.015% (\(w/v\)) meta-phosphoric acid in HPLC water, adjusted to pH 3.5 with 85% orthophosphoric acid. The mobile phase was set at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. Ascorbic acid quantification was performed at 254 nm. The standard curve was prepared from L-ascorbic acid (Chem Supply, South Australia, Australia) diluted with the mobile phase.