Miracle fruit
Encyclopedia
Synsepalum dulcificum produces berries that, when eaten, cause sour foods (such as lemon
s and lime
s) subsequently consumed to taste sweet. This effect is due to miraculin
, which is used commercially as a sugar substitute
. Common name
s for this species and its berry include miracle fruit and miracle berry. These common names are shared also by Gymnema sylvestre
and Thaumatococcus daniellii
, two other species that are used to alter the perceived sweetness of foods. Additional common names include miraculous berry and sweet berry. In West Africa where the species originates, common names include agbayun, taami, asaa, and ledidi.
The berry itself has a low sugar content and a mildly sweet tang. It contains a glycoprotein
molecule, with some trailing carbohydrate
chains, called miraculin
. When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongue's taste bud
s, causing sour foods to taste sweet. While the exact cause for this change is unknown, one theory is that miraculin works by distorting the shape of sweetness receptors "so that they become responsive to acids, instead of sugar and other sweet things". This effect lasts until the protein is washed away by saliva (up to about 60 minutes).
, who searched for many different fruits during a 1725 excursion to its native West Africa
, provided an account of its use there. Marchais noticed that local people picked the berry
from shrubs and chewed
it before meal
s.
An attempt was made in the 1970s to commercialize the ability of the fruit to turn unsweet foods into sweet foods without a caloric penalty, but ended in failure when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) classified the berry as a food additive. There were controversial circumstances with accusations that the project was sabotaged and the research burgled by the sugar industry to prevent loss of business caused by a drop in the need for sugar
. The FDA has always denied that pressure was put on it by the sugar industry, but refused to release any files on the subject. Similar arguments are noted for the FDA's regulation on stevia
now labeled as a "dietary supplement
" instead of a "sweetener".
For a time in the 1970s, US
dieters
could purchase a pill form of miraculin. The idea of the "miraculin party" was conceived then. Recently, this phenomenon has enjoyed some revival in food-tasting events, referred to as "flavor-tripping parties" by some. The tasters consume sour and bitter foods, such as lemons, radish
es, pickles
, hot sauce
, and beer
, to experience the taste changes that occur.
habitat
, but does not usually grow higher than ten feet in cultivation
. Its leaves are 5-10 cm long, 2-3.7 cm wide and glabrous below. They are clustered at the ends of the branchlets. The flowers are brown. It carries red, 2 cm long fruits. Each fruit contains one seed.
as low as 4.5 to 5.8, in an environment free from frost and in partial shade with high humidity. It is tolerable to drought, full sunshine and slopes.
The seeds need 14 to 21 days to germinate. A spacing of 4 m between plants is suggested.
The plants first bear fruit after growing for approximately 3-4 years, and produce two crops per year, after the end of the rainy season. This evergreen
plant produces small, red berries, with white flower
s and are produced for many months of the year.
The seed
s are about the size of coffee bean
s. Without the use of plant hormone
s, the seeds have a 24% sprouting success rate.
In Africa, leaves are attacked by lepidopterous larvae, and fruits are infested with larvae of fruit-flies. The fungus Rigidoporus microporus has been found on this plant.
Miraculin
is now being produced by transgenic tomato plants.
. Historically, it was also used to improve the flavor of maize
bread gone sour.
Attempts have been made to create a commercial sweetener from the fruit, with an idea of developing this for diabetics
. Fruit cultivators also report a small demand from cancer
patients, because the fruit allegedly counteracts a metallic taste in the mouth that may be one of the many side effects of chemotherapy
. This claim has not been researched scientifically, though in late 2008, an oncologist
at Mount Sinai Medical Center
in Miami, Florida
, began a study, and by March 2009, had filed an investigational new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In Japan
, miracle fruit is popular among diabetics and dieters.
Today, it is being cultivated in Ghana, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, and South Florida.
The shelf life of the fresh fruit is only 2–3 days. Because miraculin is denatured by heating, the pulp must be preserved without heating for commercial use. Freeze-dried pulp is available in granules or in tablets, and has a shelf life of 10 to 18 months.
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
s and lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
s) subsequently consumed to taste sweet. This effect is due to miraculin
Miraculin
Miraculin is a natural sugar substitute, a glycoprotein extracted from the fruit of Synsepalum dulcificum. The berry, which contains active polyphenols, was first documented by explorer Chevalier des Marchais, who searched for many different fruits during a 1725 excursion to its native West...
, which is used commercially as a sugar substitute
Sugar substitute
A sugar substitute is a food additive that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste, usually with less food energy. Some sugar substitutes are natural and some are synthetic. Those that are not natural are, in general, called artificial sweeteners....
. Common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
s for this species and its berry include miracle fruit and miracle berry. These common names are shared also by Gymnema sylvestre
Gymnema sylvestre
Gymnema sylvestre is a herb native to the tropical forests of southern and central India where it has been used as a natural treatment for diabetes for nearly two millennia.-Description:...
and Thaumatococcus daniellii
Thaumatococcus daniellii
Thaumatococcus daniellii is a species of tropical flowering plant known for being the natural source of thaumatin, an intensely sweet protein which is of interest in the development of sweeteners. It is a large, rhizomatous, flowering herb native to the rainforests of Ghana and surrounding African...
, two other species that are used to alter the perceived sweetness of foods. Additional common names include miraculous berry and sweet berry. In West Africa where the species originates, common names include agbayun, taami, asaa, and ledidi.
The berry itself has a low sugar content and a mildly sweet tang. It contains a glycoprotein
Glycoprotein
Glycoproteins are proteins that contain oligosaccharide chains covalently attached to polypeptide side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known as glycosylation. In proteins that have segments extending...
molecule, with some trailing carbohydrate
Carbohydrate
A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
chains, called miraculin
Miraculin
Miraculin is a natural sugar substitute, a glycoprotein extracted from the fruit of Synsepalum dulcificum. The berry, which contains active polyphenols, was first documented by explorer Chevalier des Marchais, who searched for many different fruits during a 1725 excursion to its native West...
. When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongue's taste bud
Taste bud
Taste buds contain the receptors for taste. They are located around the small structures on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus and epiglottis, which are called papillae. These structures are involved in detecting the five elements of taste perception: salty, sour,...
s, causing sour foods to taste sweet. While the exact cause for this change is unknown, one theory is that miraculin works by distorting the shape of sweetness receptors "so that they become responsive to acids, instead of sugar and other sweet things". This effect lasts until the protein is washed away by saliva (up to about 60 minutes).
History
The berry has been used in West Africa since at least the 18th century, when European explorer Chevalier des MarchaisChevalier des Marchais
Reynaud Des Marchais, Chevalier des Marchais was a French cartographer and navigator who travelled extensively in the west coast of Africa, the West Indies and the northwest coast of South America between 1704 and 1727, under service to the King of France. His maps and manuscripts were published...
, who searched for many different fruits during a 1725 excursion to its native West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, provided an account of its use there. Marchais noticed that local people picked the berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
from shrubs and chewed
Mastication
Mastication or chewing is the process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth. It is the first step of digestion and it increases the surface area of foods to allow more efficient break down by enzymes. During the mastication process, the food is positioned between the teeth for grinding by...
it before meal
Meal
A meal is an instance of eating, specifically one that takes place at a specific time and includes specific, prepared food.Meals occur primarily at homes, restaurants, and cafeterias, but may occur anywhere. Regular meals occur on a daily basis, typically several times a day...
s.
An attempt was made in the 1970s to commercialize the ability of the fruit to turn unsweet foods into sweet foods without a caloric penalty, but ended in failure when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
(FDA) classified the berry as a food additive. There were controversial circumstances with accusations that the project was sabotaged and the research burgled by the sugar industry to prevent loss of business caused by a drop in the need for sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
. The FDA has always denied that pressure was put on it by the sugar industry, but refused to release any files on the subject. Similar arguments are noted for the FDA's regulation on stevia
Stevia
Stevia is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family , native to subtropical and tropical regions from western North America to South America. The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its...
now labeled as a "dietary supplement
Dietary supplement
A dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet...
" instead of a "sweetener".
For a time in the 1970s, US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dieters
Dieting
Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated fashion to achieve or maintain a controlled weight. In most cases dieting is used in combination with physical exercise to lose weight in those who are overweight or obese. Some athletes, however, follow a diet to gain weight...
could purchase a pill form of miraculin. The idea of the "miraculin party" was conceived then. Recently, this phenomenon has enjoyed some revival in food-tasting events, referred to as "flavor-tripping parties" by some. The tasters consume sour and bitter foods, such as lemons, radish
Radish
The radish is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe, in pre-Roman times. They are grown and consumed throughout the world. Radishes have numerous varieties, varying in size, color and duration of required cultivation time...
es, pickles
Pickled cucumber
A pickled cucumber is a cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or other solution and left to ferment for a period of time, by either immersing the cucumbers in an acidic solution or through souring by lacto-fermentation.-Gherkin:A gherkin is not only...
, hot sauce
Hot sauce
Hot sauce, chili sauce or pepper sauce refers to any spicy sauce made from chili peppers and other ingredients.-Ingredients:There are many recipes for hot sauces - the common ingredient being any kind of peppers. A group of chemicals called capsaicinoids are responsible for the heat in chili peppers...
, and beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
, to experience the taste changes that occur.
Characteristics
The plant is a shrub that grows up to 20 feet (6.1 m) high in its nativeIndigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
, but does not usually grow higher than ten feet in cultivation
Tillage
Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shovelling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking...
. Its leaves are 5-10 cm long, 2-3.7 cm wide and glabrous below. They are clustered at the ends of the branchlets. The flowers are brown. It carries red, 2 cm long fruits. Each fruit contains one seed.
Cultivation
The plant grows best in soils with a pHPH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
as low as 4.5 to 5.8, in an environment free from frost and in partial shade with high humidity. It is tolerable to drought, full sunshine and slopes.
The seeds need 14 to 21 days to germinate. A spacing of 4 m between plants is suggested.
The plants first bear fruit after growing for approximately 3-4 years, and produce two crops per year, after the end of the rainy season. This evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
plant produces small, red berries, with white flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s and are produced for many months of the year.
The seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s are about the size of coffee bean
Coffee bean
A coffee bean is a seed of a coffee plant. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a cherry. Even though they are seeds, they are referred to as 'beans' because of their resemblance to true beans. The fruits - coffee cherries or coffee berries - most commonly contain two...
s. Without the use of plant hormone
Plant hormone
Plant hormones are chemicals that regulate plant growth, which, in the UK, are termed 'plant growth substances'. Plant hormones are signal molecules produced within the plant, and occur in extremely low concentrations. Hormones regulate cellular processes in targeted cells locally and, when moved...
s, the seeds have a 24% sprouting success rate.
In Africa, leaves are attacked by lepidopterous larvae, and fruits are infested with larvae of fruit-flies. The fungus Rigidoporus microporus has been found on this plant.
Miraculin
Miraculin
Miraculin is a natural sugar substitute, a glycoprotein extracted from the fruit of Synsepalum dulcificum. The berry, which contains active polyphenols, was first documented by explorer Chevalier des Marchais, who searched for many different fruits during a 1725 excursion to its native West...
is now being produced by transgenic tomato plants.
Uses
In tropical West Africa, where this species originates, the fruit pulp is used to sweeten palm winePalm wine
Palm wine also called Palm Toddy also called "Kallu" written in Malayalam and கள்ளு in Tamil or simply Toddy is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, and coconut palms...
. Historically, it was also used to improve the flavor of maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
bread gone sour.
Attempts have been made to create a commercial sweetener from the fruit, with an idea of developing this for diabetics
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
. Fruit cultivators also report a small demand from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
patients, because the fruit allegedly counteracts a metallic taste in the mouth that may be one of the many side effects of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
. This claim has not been researched scientifically, though in late 2008, an oncologist
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
at Mount Sinai Medical Center
Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute
Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute is a hospital located at 4300 Alton Road in Miami Beach, Florida, and is the largest independent non-profit teaching hospital in the state. The institution was incorporated on March 11, 1946, and opened on its current location on Sunday, December...
in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, began a study, and by March 2009, had filed an investigational new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, miracle fruit is popular among diabetics and dieters.
Today, it is being cultivated in Ghana, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, and South Florida.
The shelf life of the fresh fruit is only 2–3 days. Because miraculin is denatured by heating, the pulp must be preserved without heating for commercial use. Freeze-dried pulp is available in granules or in tablets, and has a shelf life of 10 to 18 months.