Potential Source of Low-Calorie Sweeteners from Tropical and Subtropical Plants – A Review

Author(s)

Yadav, R., Yadav, N., Kharya, M. D.

Author's Affiliation

Abstract

Sweeteners are usually made from the fruit or sap of plants, but can also be made from any other part of the plant, or all of it. Some sweeteners are made from starch, with the use of enzymes. Sweeteners made by animals, especially insects, are put in their own section as they can come from more than one part of plants. The global consumption of herbs as medicine, nutraceuticals, food additives, cosmaceuticals, etc. is increasing rapidly. One of such area of high commercial potential is sweetening properties. Numerous compounds of plant origin are reported to have different degree of sweetness. In the light of limitations of currently marketed synthetic sweeteners as well as drastic reduction of high-calorific sugar consumption especially in developed countries, an area of low-calorie sweetener is gaining tremendous commercial significance. However, in recent past these sweeteners gone through several steps, therefore, before commercialization of these natural sweeteners for both pharmaceutical as well as food industry, it needs to undergo rigorous evaluations. Many other plant‐derived compounds are sweet, ranging in structural complexity from sugars and polyhydric alcohols through diterpene and triterpene glycosides to proteins; some of these compounds are intensely sweet, being hundreds or even thousand times sweeter than sucrose, and offer potential for commercial use in dietetic and diabetic foodstuffs. The present review examines the role of ethnobotany in the discovery of sweet‐tasting plants, the chemical composition of the sweet compounds, and some description, utilization aspects of these compounds.

Keywords

Plant Metabolites, Low-Calorie Sweeteners, Intense Sweeteners

Cite This Article

Yadav, R., Yadav, N., & Kharya, M. D. (2014). Potential Source of Low-Calorie Sweeteners from Tropical and Subtropical Plants - A Review. International Journal for Pharmaceutical Research Scholars (IJPRS), 3(2), 266-273.