Synsepalum dulcificum is a plant in the Sapotaceae family, native to tropical Africa. It is known for its berry that, when eaten, causes sour foods (such as lemons and limes) subsequently consumed to taste sweet. Common names for this species and its berry include miracle fruit, miracle berry, miraculous berry, and in West Africa, where the species originates, àgbáyun (in Yoruba), 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 buds, causing sour foods to taste sweet. At neutral pH, miraculin binds and blocks the receptors, but at low pH (resulting from ingestion of sour foods) miraculin binds proteins and becomes able to activate the sweet receptors, resulting in the perception of sweet taste. This effect lasts until the protein is washed away by saliva (up to about 30 minutes).

The names miracle fruit and miracle berry are shared by Gymnema sylvestre and Thaumatococcus daniellii, For a time in the 1970s, US dieters could purchase a pill form of miraculin. This interest had a revival in food-tasting events at which tasters consume sour and bitter foods, such as lemons, radishes, pickles, hot sauce, and beer, then experience the perceived change to sweetness with miraculin.

Characteristics

It is a shrub that grows in height and has dense foliage. Its leaves are long, wide, and glabrous below. They are clustered at the ends of the branchlets. The flowers are white. It carries red, long fruits. Each fruit contains one seed about the size of a coffee bean.

Uses and regulation

In tropical West Africa, where this species originates, the fruit pulp is used to sweeten palm wine. Historically, it was also used to improve the flavor of soured cornbread, but has been used as a sweetener and flavoring agent for diverse beverages and foods, such as beer, cocktails, vinegar, and pickles.

Since 2011, the United States FDA has imposed a ban on importing Synsepalum dulcificum (specifying 'miraculin') from its origin in Taiwan, declaring it as an "illegal undeclared sweetener". However the ban does not apply when it is imported from other countries.

In 2021, the company Baïa Food Co. in Spain was granted permission to put Dried Miracle Berry on the market in the EU.

References

  • Miracle fruit facts from the California Rare Fruit Growers