Currently, the main synthetic sweeteners on the market are sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame and saccharin, which are widely used as artificial sweeteners in the production and processing of food and beverages.

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

As people’s awareness of dietary science improves, eating nutritious and healthy has gradually become the focus of consumer concern. Therefore, the market demand for natural, low-calorie sweetener is also growing.

Somatosweet is a kind of natural sweet protein extracted from African bamboo yam, which is natural, low-calorie, safe and non-toxic, and can be degraded to amino acids needed by the human body, etc. It is suitable for today’s consumer psychology and the trend of the development of food additives, and there are many researches on somatosweet in recent years. In this paper, the physical and chemical properties of somatosweet, the current production status and the development and application of somatosweet in the food industry are summarized.

Source and Physicochemical Properties of Somatosweet

1.1 Source
Thaumatin (Thaumatin), also known as the African bamboo taro sweet, Thaumatin, is a natural sweet protein extracted from the bamboo taro. Bamboo taro belongs to the bamboo taro perennial plants, growing in the West African Ivory Coast, Sudan near the tropical rainforest forest area, its fruit is reddish-brown triangular cone, there are black seeds 2 ~ 3, the head of the seeds have mucus-like white to yellowish aril cover, aril contains strong sweet protein Thaumatin, West Africa since ancient times as a fermented over the sour wine and bread and other sweeteners.

1.2 Physical and chemical properties
Soma sweet is white to cream color, amorphous, odorless powder, molecular weight 22KD, isoelectric point between 11.5 ~ l2.5, 280nm at the maximum absorption peak, very soluble in water, not easy to dissolve in organic solvents, especially insoluble in acetone, the stability of the main PH, temperature and solution of oxygen, ions.

The sweetness of Somatosweet is very strong, 1600 times that of sucrose, and the sweetness queue value is very low, even if it is diluted to 10^-8mol/L, its sweetness can still be perceived; Somatosweet is sweet and refreshing, with no peculiar smell, long duration, PH is stable in the range of 1.8-10, because it is a kind of protein, it can be denatured and lose sweetness by heating; Somatosweet loses its sweetness after it combines with tannin, and the sweetness is lowered in the solution of high concentration of table salt. The sweetness will be reduced in high concentration of salt solution, and there is a synergistic effect and flavor improvement effect when shared with sugar sweeteners.

In addition, somatosweet has good processing stability, it is stable in pasteurization and baked food, common preservatives have no effect on it, it is stable in food and beverage formulations, and the shelf life of dried products is more than two years.

Approval status

In 1979, somatosweet was first approved as a natural food additive in Japan and put into the market; in 1981, the UK approved somatosweet to be used in pharmaceuticals, and in 1986, it was approved to be used in food as a sweetener; since 1994, it has been approved to be used as a sweetener and flavor enhancer in Europe; and similar approvals have been granted in Switzerland, Israel, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. Similar approvals exist 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 U.S. Food Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) considered somatosweet to be safe and approved its use in food.

In 2014, China has officially approved the use of somatosweet as a food additive, with a maximum use level of 0.025g/kg for frozen beverages (except edible ice), processed nuts and seeds, bakery products, tabletop sweeteners, and beverages (except packaged drinking water), which has greatly facilitated the application of somatosweet in China’s food industry.

Soma sweet in the food industry application status quo

Soma sweet is a low-energy about 4.2kcal/g of natural sweet protein, can improve and enhance the flavor of food, masking the bitter taste and astringency. It can also reduce the sensory queerness of many aromatic substances.

For example, menthol, coffee, ginger, chocolate, strawberry, apple, lemon, orange and so on. Used as a sweetening agent in the food industry. Low concentrations of Somatosweet are effective in enhancing the flavor of food products, even at a use level of 10^-6 w/w, and are suitable for beverages, ice creams and dietary supplement drinks or chewable tablets based on microorganisms and minerals.

Soma Sweet has a synergistic effect when used in combination with sweeteners such as saccharin, acesulfame and aspartame to enhance the sweetness of typical high sweeteners and can mask the bitterness associated with metalaxyl and other sweeteners, providing a taste closer to that of sucrose, enhancing sweetness and prolonging sweetness perception. This natural flavor improver and enhancer is used in small quantities and produces virtually no energy in the human body.

When used in slightly higher concentrations, thomasweet has been successfully used in pharmaceuticals in antibiotics, painkillers, cough syrups, general cold and flu remedies, pharmaceutical capsules and supplements due to the highly charged nature of the molecule, which masks bitterness and improves mouthfeel.

Soma sweet used in the cosmetic industry, such as in toothpaste and mouthwash, can extend its flavor and coolness; will be added to chewing gum, chewing sweetness and flavor more durable, in sugar-free chewing gum, can promote the sweetness of the filler, so as not to add cariogenic substances and increase the calorific value; will be added to coffee extracts, not only to increase the aroma, bitterness and acidity of the coffee, but also to make it smell more roasted coffee; Soma sweet added to cigarette filters, can mask the bitter taste and improve the taste, has been successfully used in pharmaceuticals, add antibiotics painkillers, cough syrup, general cold medicine, drug capsules and supplements. Soma sweet added to cigarette filters, can make the smoke flavor calm and simple, this effect has been confirmed by many Japanese tobacco companies practice.

Development prospect of Somatosweet

Soma sweet application prospects, high purity of soma sweet (> 98%) in the international market, the average transaction price of 4000 euros per kilogram. At present, the main problems faced by the production of limited planting area, low yield, raw material supply instability in western Africa, genetic engineering production is still in the research stage.

There is no domestic producer of somatosweet, the market is mainly imported from the United States and other places, mixed products, different standards. China has officially approved the application of somatosweet in the food industry, it is time to carry out the research on the application of somatosweet in food, and start the promotion of domestic somatosweet food additives, and formulate the perfect national standard of food additives, which will help to standardize the domestic market of somatosweet, and guide and manage the reasonable application of it in the food industry.