My Science School

The miracle fruit, (Synespalum dulcifcum), also called miracle berry belongs to the evergreen shrub of the Saprotaceae family. It is grown for its fruit which has an unusual property. When eaten with sour food, it can turn the sour taste to sweet. The plant is found in tropical West Africa, where it is used locally to sweeten palm wine.

The miracle fruit plant grows as a dense shrub or a small tree, to a height of around 5.5 metres (18 feet) in the wild. The simple leaves are oval and taper at the base with smooth margins and a waxy underside. They grow in cone-like clusters at the ends of small branches. The small white flowers give rise to red fruits of about 2-3 cm (0.8-1.2 inches) in length, each with a seed. Plants grow in acidic soil and bear fruit after three or four years.

How does it turn sour flavour into sweet? It has a glycoprotein named miraculin, which was first isolated by Japanese researcher Kenzo Kurihara in 1968. Although miraculin itself is not sweet, it binds to receptors on the taste buds and makes acidic foods taste sweet. The sweetness in the mouth lasts from half an hour to two hours, with the intensity declining when minutes pass by. Miraculin is isolated and eaten in Japan.

Picture Credit : Google