Pentadiplandra brazzeana
Encyclopedia
Pentadiplandra brazzeana is the sole species in the plant genus Pentadiplandra, which is placed alone in family Pentadiplandraceae.
Baill.
(or Oubli) plant was rediscovered in 1985 by Marcel and Anette Hladik, both working at the Paris National Nature Museum, who were studying the eating habits of apes in Gabon.
They published their findings in science magazines, which started global interest in research on the sweet secret of Pentadiplandra brazzeana berry fruit.
The plant grows in Angola
, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
, the Central African Republic
, the Republic of the Congo
, Cameroon
, Gabon
and Nigeria
.
Two highly sweet-tasting proteins were discovered from the fruit, pentadin
(in 1989) and brazzein
(in 1994).
and Cameroon
, where the fruit has been consumed by the apes and the natives for a long time. The berries of the plant were incredibly sweet African locals call them "Oubli" (French for "forgot") in there vernacular language because their taste helps nursing infants forget their mother's milk as once they eat it they forget to come back to the village to see their mother.
Baill.
Henri Ernest Baillon
Henri Ernest Baillon was a French botanist and physician. He was born in Calais on November 30, 1827 and died in Paris on July 19, 1895.Baillon spent his professional life as a professor of natural history, and he published numerous works on botany...
(or Oubli) plant was rediscovered in 1985 by Marcel and Anette Hladik, both working at the Paris National Nature Museum, who were studying the eating habits of apes in Gabon.
They published their findings in science magazines, which started global interest in research on the sweet secret of Pentadiplandra brazzeana berry fruit.
The plant grows in Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, the Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
.
Two highly sweet-tasting proteins were discovered from the fruit, pentadin
Pentadin
Pentadin, a sweet-tasting protein, was discovered and isolated in 1989, in the fruit of Oubli , a climbing shrub growing in some tropical countries of Africa....
(in 1989) and brazzein
Brazzein
Brazzein is a sweet-tasting protein extracted from the West African fruit of the climbing plant Oubli . It was first isolated as an enzyme by University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1994....
(in 1994).
Traditional use
The plant grows in GabonGabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
and Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, where the fruit has been consumed by the apes and the natives for a long time. The berries of the plant were incredibly sweet African locals call them "Oubli" (French for "forgot") in there vernacular language because their taste helps nursing infants forget their mother's milk as once they eat it they forget to come back to the village to see their mother.