Research Progress of Natural Sweet Protein Thomastin

At present, the artificial sweeteners on the market mainly include sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame potassium and saccharin, which are widely used in the production and processing of food and beverages as artificial sweeteners.

However, epidemiological and basic medical studies in recent years have shown that high-fat, high-calorie diets are closely related to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.

With the improvement of people's scientific awareness of diet, eating nutritious and healthy has gradually become the focus of consumers' concern. As a result, there is a growing demand for all-natural, low-calorie sweeteners.

Soma sweet is a natural sweet protein extracted from African arrowroot. It has many advantages such as natural, low-calorie, safe and non-toxic, and can be degraded into amino acids needed by the human body, which is in line with the psychology and food of today's consumers. The development trend of additives has been studied a lot in recent years. In this paper, the physicochemical properties, production status and development and application of sommatin in the food industry were reviewed.

Source and physicochemical properties of thomastin

1.1 Source

Thaumatin, also known as African arrowroot sweet, Shamatin, is a natural sweet protein extracted from arrowroot. Arrowroot is a perennial plant of the arrowroot family. It grows in the tropical rainforest forests near Ivory Coast and Sudan in West Africa. Its fruit is a reddish-brown triangular cone with 2 to 3 black seeds inside. The head of the seeds is mucus-like white to light yellow. Covered in arils that contain the intensely sweet protein sommatin, which has been used in West Africa since ancient times as a sweetener for things like over-fermented sours and breads.

1.2 Physical and chemical properties

Somatin is a white to cream-colored, amorphous, odorless powder with a molecular weight of 22KD, an isoelectric point between 11.5 and 12.5, and a maximum absorption peak at 280nm. It is easily soluble in water, but not easily soluble in organic solvents. It is especially insoluble in acetone, and its stability is mainly affected by pH, temperature, and oxygen and ions in the solution.

The sweetness of Soma sweet is extremely strong, 1600 times that of sucrose, and the sweetness threshold is extremely low. Even if it is diluted to 10^-8mol/L, its sweetness can still be perceived; Soma sweet is refreshing, odorless, and persistent. For a long time, the PH is stable in the range of 1.8 to 10. Because it is a protein, it can be denatured and lose its sweetness when heated. After combining with tannin, it will lose its sweetness, and the sweetness will be reduced in a high-concentration salt solution. Sweeteners share synergistic and flavor-improving effects.

In addition, Soma sweet has good processing stability and is stable in pasteurized and baked goods. Commonly used preservatives have no effect on it. It is stable in food and beverage formulations, and the shelf life of dry products is more than two years.

Approval Status

In 1979, Soma sweet was approved for the first time in Japan as a natural food additive; in 1981, Soma sweet was approved for use in medicines, and in 1986, it was approved as a sweetener for food; since 1994, it was approved as a sweetener in Europe. Flavor and flavor enhancer use; similar approvals are regulated in Switzerland, Israel, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and South America.

Subsequently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Flavor and Extracts Manufacturers Association (FEMA) considered thomasin to be safe and approved its use in food.

In 2014, my country has officially approved the use of Somma sweet as a food additive. The maximum use amount of frozen drinks (except edible ice), processed nuts and seeds, baked goods, table sweeteners, and beverages (except packaged drinking water) is 0.025 g/kg, which greatly promotes the application of soma sweet in my country's food industry.

The application status of soma sweet in food industry

Somatamine is a natural sweet protein with low energy of about 4.2kcal/g, which can improve and enhance food flavor and mask bitterness and astringency. It also reduces the sensory threshold of many fragrances. Such as menthol, coffee, ginger, chocolate, strawberries, apples, lemons, oranges, etc. Used as a sweetener in the food industry. Low-concentration thomastin can effectively enhance the flavor of food, even when used in an amount of 10^-6w/w.

The combination of thomastin and sweeteners such as saccharin, acesulfame potassium and aspartame has a synergistic effect, which can improve the sweetness of general high-intensity sweeteners, and can mask the bitterness caused by metal and other sweeteners. Provides a taste closer to sucrose, enhances sweetness and prolongs sweetness. This natural flavor improver and enhancer is actually used in a small amount and basically does not generate energy in the human body.

When used at a slightly higher concentration, due to the high charge of its molecules, thomasam can mask the bitter taste and improve the taste. It has been successfully used in pharmaceuticals, and has been added to antibiotics, pain relievers, cough syrups, general cold medicines, drug capsules and supplements. in the agent.

Sommatide is used in the cosmetic industry, such as in toothpaste and mouthwash, to prolong its flavor and coolness; it is added to chewing gum for longer-lasting sweetness and aroma when chewed, and in sugar-free chewing gum, it promotes the sweetness of fillers. To avoid adding cariogenic substances and increasing caloric value; adding it to coffee extract can not only increase the aroma, bitterness and acidity of coffee, but also make it smell more like roasted coffee; soma sweet added to cigarettes In the filter tip of the cigarette, it can make the smoke taste smooth and pure, and this effect has been confirmed by many Japanese tobacco companies.

The development prospect of Soma sweet

Sommatide has broad application prospects, and the average transaction price of high-purity sommatide (>98%) in the international market is 4,000 euros per kilogram. At present, the main problems in production are limited planting area, low yield, unstable supply of raw materials in West Africa, and genetic engineering production is still in the research stage.

There are no soma sweet manufacturers in China. The products on the market are mainly imported from the United States and other places. The products are mixed and the standards are different. my country has officially approved the application of Somma sweet in the food industry. At this time, it is necessary to carry out research on the application of Soma sweet in food, and carry out the promotion of domestic Soma sweet food additives, and formulate a complete national standard for food additives. It is conducive to regulating the domestic market of Soma sweet and guiding and managing its rational application in the food industry.