Brazzein
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brazzein is a natural sugar substitute which is 500x-1000x sweeter than sucrose. Brazzein is isolated from the West African fruit of the Ballion plant, Pentadiplandra brazzeana. The plant had been consumed by the apes and the local peoples of Gabon for many years who called it "L'oublie" (french for "forget"), because it is said to be so sweet that it makes you forget anything.
Unlike most other sugar substitutes, Brazzein is a protein, not a carbohydrate. In addition, Brazzein has fewer calories than sugar. Also, unlike sugar, it can be eaten by diabetics without any worries. It is more sugar-like than most other sugar-substitutes and it can withstand heat, which is a big bonus for industrial food manufacture.
The Pentadiplandra-brazzeana-plant was discovered 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.
Brazzein as an enzyme was first isolated by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Bengt G. Hellekant and doctoral student Ding Ming. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation currently owns four patents on Brazzein. The Texas companies Prodigene and Nectar Worldwide were among the licensees, and were the first to genetically engineer the enzyme into maize.
Brazzein can be commercially extracted from genetically modified maize through ordinary milling. Approximately one ton of maize yields 1-2 kilograms of Brazzein. It can also be engineered into plants like wheat to make pre-sweetened grains, e.g. for cereals.
