In Search of the Perfect Sweetener

Miracle Berry – Synsepalum Dulcificum

Michael Mosley writes that too much of refined sugar is the cause of obesity and ill-health and hence the search is on for the right sweetener, though it is not an easy task. Mosley was fascinated when the team making a new series for BBC One, Tomorrow’s Food, had invited him to try the extract of an African fruit named the miracle berry.

The same had been derived from a plant called Synsepalum dulcificum and is unlike any artificial sugar tried before because it works not by making foods sweeter but make them taste sweeter.The miracle berries comprise of a molecule known as miraculin that binds to receptors on the tongue changing their shape which makes sour food taste sweeter.

One benefit of temporarily changing the taste buds instead of the food itself could be the effect this could have on the gut bacteria. Strong debates whether the utilisation of sugars would help to lose weight or not, have been going on for several years.

Several Conflicting Studies

Recent meta-analysis that viewed the results of over 100 various human studies concluded that when artificial sweeteners had replaced sugar in the diet, could have led to weight loss. However, the Harvard School of Public Health points out that there seems to be plenty of conflicting studies inclusive of those which indicate that drinking artificially sweetened drinks could increase the risk, not only of weight gain but of type 2 diabetes as well.

It is unknown how artificial sugars could do this though a study conducted by a group in Israel recommends that it could be through the impact of artificial sugar on the gut bacteria. The Israeli researchers, in a study published last year in the science journal Nature, had asked a group of lean and healthy volunteers who did not generally use artificial sweeteners to consume maximum amount of acceptable dose for a week.

Towards the end of the week, half of those who had participated showed indications of glucose intolerance, which is the initial step in type 2 diabetes. The researchers presumed that this could be due to the bacteria in their guts reacting to the artificial sugars by secreting substance causing inflammation. This was what they had observed in animals.

Miraculin Molecule - Genetically Engineering Tomato Plants

When they had collected the faeces samples from the volunteers, they observed changes in the gut bacteria of those who had responded badly to the sweeteners with no change in those who had not. One of the researchers Dr Eran Elinav had mentioned that `relationship with our own individual mix of gut bacteria is a huge factor in determining how the foods we eat affects us’.

Not a fan of artificial sweeteners, he adds that there should be a reassessment of today’s massive, unsupervised consumption of these substances. Consumers are cautious of whatever the health effects or otherwise of artificial sweeteners which is where those who have been promoting the joys of natural miracle berries brings some hope.

The issue is that the berries tend to be expensive to grow and does not last long. Hence the scientists in Japan, where the berry seems to be popular, are now making attempts to produce the important miraculin molecule by genetically engineering tomato plants. Presently the cheapest and the simplest option to get a dose of miraculin is to get tablets containing the dehydrated pulp of the fresh berries.