A fruit that is 300 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia and Lippia are sweet herbs. Traditional processing methods

Arhat (Siraitia grosvenorii) Synonyms: Momordica grosvenorii Swingle; Thladiantha grosvenorii (Swingle) C.Jeffrey. Siraitia grosvenorii is a perennial herb climbing plant from the pumpkin family, native to southern China and northern Thailand. The plant is valued for its fruits, the extract of which is almost 300 times sweeter than sugar. In China, monk fruit is used as a natural low-calorie sweetener for chilled drinks, and in traditional Chinese medicine– for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. In publications on English language Arhat fruits are often called luo han guo or lo han kuo (Lo Han Guo), from Chinese Luohan guǒ, 罗汉果 / 羅漢果. The plant is also called la hán quả, Buddha fruit, monk fruit or longevity fruit (the latter name is also used for some other plants). The plant Siraitia grosvenorii is named after Gilbert Grosvenor, who, as president of the National Geographic Society, helped finance an expedition in the 1930s to discover the plant in its cultivation areas.
Description

The vine reaches a length of 3 to 5 meters, “climbing” other plants using tendrils that twine around everything they touch. The plant has narrow, heart-shaped leaves 10-20 cm long. The fruits are round, 5-7 cm in diameter, smooth, yellow-brown or green-brown in color, with stripes extending from the end of the stalk, with a hard but thin skin covered with small hairs. The fruit contains edible pulp, which when dried forms a thin, light brown, brittle shell about 1 mm thick. The seeds are elongated and almost spherical in shape. The monk fruit is sometimes mistaken for an unrelated species, the purple mangosteen. The inside of the fruit is eaten fresh, and the bitter peel is used to make tea. Siraitia grosvenorii is famous for its sweet taste, which can be concentrated from the plant's sap. The fruit contains from 25 to 38% of various carbohydrates, mainly fructose and glucose. The sweetness of the fruit is enhanced by the presence of mogrosides, a group of triterpene glycosides (saponins). The five different mogrosides are numbered I to V; The main component is mogroside V, which is also known as esgoside. The fruit also contains vitamin C.

Growing
Seed germination is slow and may take several months. The plant is grown mainly in the far southern Chinese province of Guangxi (mainly in the mountains near Guilin), as well as in Guangdong, Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. Because of the mountains, the plants are in the shade and often surrounded by fog, which protects them from the sun. However, the climate in this southern province is quite warm. The plant is rarely found in wildlife; it has been specially cultivated for several hundred years. Records dating back to 1813 mention the cultivation of this plant in Guangxi Province. There is currently a 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi) plantation in the Guilin Mountains with an annual production of approximately 100 million fruits. Most of the plantations are located in Yongfu and Linggui counties. Longyang City in Yongfu County is considered the "home of Chinese Luo Han Guo fruit"; a number of companies specializing in the production of Lo Han Guo extracts and finished products from the fruits of the arhat, were founded in this area. The oldest of these companies is Yongfu Pharmaceutical Factory.
Traditional use

The plant is most valued for its sweet fruits, which are used for medicinal purposes and as a sweetener. The fruit is usually sold dried, and is traditionally used in herbal teas or soups.

Non-toxic
No negative effects reported side effects arhat fruits. The FDA defines the fruit as "generally safe for health." No restrictions have been made regarding the consumption of the fruit or its extracts.

Active substances
The sweet taste of the fruit is provided by mogrosides, a group of triterpene glycosides that make up about 1% of the pulp. fresh fruits. Using solvent extraction, a powder containing 80% mogrosides can be obtained, the main one being mogroside-5 (esgoside). Other similar substances found in the fruit are siamenoside and neomogroside. Recent research suggests that isolated mogrosides have antioxidant properties and possibly limited anticancer effects. Mogrosides have also been shown to inhibit Epstein-Barr virus induction in vitro. The plant also contains the glycoprotein momogroswine, which inhibits ribosomal protein synthesis.

Traditional methods processing
Arhat fruits are round and green when harvested, and during the drying process they acquire Brown color. They are rarely used fresh due to difficulties associated with storage. In addition, during the fermentation process, the fruits acquire a rotten taste, which is superimposed on the already present unpleasant aromas. Thus, the fruits are usually dried and sold in dried form in Chinese herbal shops. The drying process is carried out over low heat in ovens, thanks to which it is possible to preserve the fruit by removing most of the unpleasant odors. However, this method also produces a bitter and astringent taste. This limits the use of dried fruits and extracts for teas, soups, and as a sweetener for foods traditionally consumed with sugar or honey.

Procter & Gamble process
In 1995, Procter & Gamble patented a process for making a healthy sweetener from monk fruit. The patent claims that while monk fruit is very sweet, it contains too many extraneous flavors that render it useless. The company's patented process focuses on removing foreign odors. Fresh fruits are collected until they are completely ripe, and then they are stored for some time so that the process of their processing occurs precisely at the stage of fruit ripeness. The shell and seeds are removed and the pulp of the fruit is made into a fruit concentrate or puree, which is then used for further food production. Solvents are used to remove unpleasant odors.

Story
During the Tang Dynasty, Guilin was one of the most important places for Buddhist retreats with many temples. The fruit was named after the arhats (Luohan, 羅漢), Buddhist monks who hoped to achieve enlightenment and liberation through what they considered to be proper lifestyle and meditation. The word "luohan" (羅漢) is a shortened form of the word "āluóhàn" (阿羅漢), which is a very old transliteration of the Indian Sanskrit word "arhat". In early Buddhist traditions, an arhat was a monk who had achieved enlightenment. This process was called "attaining the fruits of the arhat" (Sanskrit: arhattaphala). IN Chinese this word was transformed into "Luohan guǒ" (羅漢果, lit. "Arhat fruit"), which later became the name for this type of sweet fruit in China. According to Chinese history, the fruit was first mentioned in the records of 13th century monks who used it as food. However, the space for establishing plantations was limited, and arhat grew mainly on the slopes of the Guangxi and Guangdong mountains, and to a lesser extent in Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi and Hainan. Because of this and the difficulties associated with its cultivation, the fruit did not become part of the Chinese traditional medicine, which used more readily available herbs and plants. Because of this, the fruit is also not mentioned in traditional herbal reference books.

Rediscovery of the Arhat in the 20th century
The first mention of this plant in English is in an unpublished manuscript written in 1938 by Professor Groff and Hoh Hin Chung. The report said the fruits were often used as the main ingredients in “chilled drinks,” that is, drinks used in hot weather, and as remedies for fevers or other disorders traditionally associated with heat (inflammations). It was known then that the juice from the fruit was very sweet. Interviews confirmed that the fruits have only recently gained significance in Chinese history. However, a small group of people appear to have long mastered the cultivation of the plant and have accumulated extensive experience in the plant's growth, pollination, and climatic requirements. The fruit was brought to the USA at the beginning of the 20th century. Groff mentions that during his visit to the American Ministry Agriculture in 1917, botanist Frederick Coville showed him monk fruits purchased from a Chinese store in Washington. Fruit seeds purchased from a Chinese store in San Francisco were introduced into botanical description species in 1941. The first study of the sweet components of monk fruit is credited to S. H. Lee, who wrote a report on the plant in English in 1975, and to Tsunematsu Takemoto, who studied it in the early 1980s in Japan (Takemoto later decided to focus on a similar sweet plant gynostemma). In China, the development of production of products from arhat fruits, in particular, concentrated extracts, is still ongoing.

Can't do anything. It was she who supplied us with the sweetest substance - saccharin, which is 300 times sweeter than ordinary sugar. However, plants have recently been discovered whose fruits are much sweeter than sugar and even saccharin.

Take, for example, an unusual plant that is found in the savannas of the South American country of Paraguay. This is a bush stevia, the leaves of which contain a substance resembling saccharin. It is more than 300 times sweeter than sugar. This plant has already begun a successful march through the fields of Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Laos. In Europe, where stevia was brought at the beginning of the last century, it is intensively cultivated. An extract made from stevia can, for example, be used to sweeten confectionery products for diabetics.

Great interest among scientists in last years causes the so-called sugar grass, growing in Central America mainly in Mexico. A sweet oily liquid was isolated from its leaves and flowers, which, as it turned out, is 1000 times sweeter than sugar. In honor of the Spanish physician Francisco Hernandez, who discovered this plant in 1570, the isolated substance was named hernandulcine. What is especially valuable is that, unlike natural sugar, this substance is completely harmless to diabetics and is not conducive to obesity.

Under the scorching rays of the sun in the African savannah, a herbaceous plant with large leaves grows with the Latin name - tomatocus dannelius. The special substance talin, which is found in its red berries, is 2000 times sweeter than sugar.

The champion among the sweetest plants is the shrub ketemf, which grows in the rainforests of West Africa. Scientists have isolated from it the sweetest substance in the world - toumatin. It is 100,000 times sweeter than sugar! This substance will be sweet even if toumatin is dissolved in a concentration of 10 g per ton of water!

There are plants that may not be sweeter than sugar, but they affect a person’s sense of taste. Interesting shrub sinsepalum dulcificum grows in the tropical forests of West Africa. Its fruits have amazing property. If you chew several of its fruits before eating, miracles will immediately begin to happen to your taste: sour lemon will seem sweeter than orange, and sugar will seem bitter. This effect lasts for about an hour, and sometimes more, depending on the amount of fruit eaten. Local populations from Ghana to Zaire use its fruit to sweeten sour palm wine. Interestingly, plants with similar effects are found in the south of Tajikistan and China. This tree is from the buckthorn family - jujube, also known as unabi or Chinese date. The red-brown jujube fruits, 3-4 cm long, contain up to 30% sucrose, 3.5% proteins, about 4% fats and 2.5% acids. Compotes, jams, and marshmallows are prepared from them. Store dried. It has long been used in folk medicine for hypertension, asthma, and kidney stones.

What's sweeter than sugar?

Until recently, the sweetest substance was supplied to us by chemistry,
the science of miraculous transformations. This is saccharin, which is 300 times sweeter than usual -
go sugar. However, plants have recently been discovered whose fruits are much more
Sweeter not only than sugar, but also saccharin.

One of these unusual plants located in the savannas of South America
country of Paraguay. This is a STEVIA shrub, the leaves of which contain
a substance resembling saccharin. It is more than 300 times sweeter than sugar.

In recent years, the so-called SA-
HARA GRASS, growing in Central America, mainly in Mecca
sike. A sweet oily liquid was isolated from its leaves and flowers,
which, as it turned out, is 1000 times sweeter than sugar. IN
honor of the Spanish doctor Francisco Er- who discovered this plant in 1570
Nandez, the isolated substance was named hernandulcin. Especially valuable
is that, unlike natural sugar, this substance is completely
It is generally harmless for diabetics and does not promote obesity.

Under the scorching rays of the sun, a grassy plant grows in the African savannah.
plant with large leaves with the Latin name - TOUMATOCUS DANNE-
LIY. The special substance talin, which is found in its red berries, is
2000 times sweeter than sugar.

An even sweeter plant is LIANA DIOSCOREPHYLLUM CUMMINISIIA,
growing in the tropical forests of Nigeria and other West African countries.
Sugar, compared to its coral-red berries, collected in
large clusters, due to the content of the substance monellin, seem to
great taste. Of course, monellin is 3000 times sweeter than sugar. These berries
called fabulous.

And yet, it is not this plant that is the champion among super-sweet plants, but the couscous
KETEMF, which grows in the rainforests of West Africa.
Scientists have isolated from it the sweetest substance in the world - toumatin. It
sweeter than sugar (hard to imagine) 100,000 times! This substance will
sweet even if toumatin is dissolved at a concentration of 10 g per whole
a ton of water!

Scientists believe that growing super-sweet plants can make
revolution in the world sugar industry.

So, for example, one of these plants is STEVIA, or two-leaf plant, harvested
netz South America, “only” 300 times sweeter than sugar, but has already begun to be successful
a march through the fields of Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Laos. In Europe,
where stevia was brought at the beginning of this century, it is cultivated in
Spain and from light hand Academician N.I. Vavilov in Russia. Significant-
cultural plantations are located in the Krasnogvardeisky district of Belgo-
native region. With an extract made from stevia, Belgorod residents rely on
sweeten confectionery products for diabetics.

Synonyms: Momordica grosvenorii Swingle; Thladiantha grosvenorii (Swingle) C.Jeffrey. Siraitia grosvenorii is a perennial herbaceous climbing plant of the Cucurbitaceae family, native to southern China and northern Thailand. The plant is valued for its fruits, the extract of which is almost 300 times sweeter than sugar. In China, monk fruit is used as a natural low-calorie sweetener for chilled drinks, and in traditional Chinese medicine to treat diabetes and obesity. In English language publications, arhat fruit is often called luo han guo or lo han kuo (Lo Han Guo), from the Chinese Luohan guǒ, 罗汉果 / 羅漢果. The plant is also called la hán quả, Buddha fruit, monk fruit or longevity fruit (the latter name is also used for some other plants). The plant Siraitia grosvenorii is named after Gilbert Grosvenor, who, as president of the National Geographic Society, helped finance an expedition in the 1930s to discover the plant in its cultivation areas.

Description

Growing

Seed germination is slow and may take several months. The plant is grown mainly in the far southern Chinese province of Guangxi (mainly in the mountains near Guilin), as well as in Guangdong, Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. Because of the mountains, the plants are in the shade and often surrounded by fog, which protects them from the sun. However, the climate in this southern province is quite warm. The plant is rarely found in the wild; it has been specially cultivated for several hundred years. Records dating back to 1813 mention the cultivation of this plant in Guangxi Province. There is currently a 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi) plantation in the Guilin Mountains with an annual production of approximately 100 million fruits. Most of the plantations are located in Yongfu and Linggui counties. Longyang City in Yongfu County is considered the "home of Chinese Luo Han Guo fruit"; A number of companies specializing in the production of Lo Han Guo extracts and finished monk fruit products were founded in this area. The oldest of these companies is Yongfu Pharmaceutical Factory.

Traditional use

The plant is most valued for its sweet fruits, which are used for medicinal purposes and as a sweetener. The fruit is usually sold dried, and is traditionally used in herbal teas or soups.

Non-toxic

There have been no reported negative side effects of monk fruit. The FDA defines the fruit as "generally safe for health." No restrictions have been made regarding the consumption of the fruit or its extracts.

Active substances

The sweet taste of the fruit is provided by mogrosides, a group of triterpene glycosides that make up about 1% of the fresh fruit pulp. Using solvent extraction, a powder containing 80% mogrosides can be obtained, the main one being mogroside-5 (esgoside). Other similar substances found in the fruit are siamenoside and neomogroside. Recent research suggests that isolated mogrosides have antioxidant properties and possibly limited anticancer effects. Mogrosides have also been shown to inhibit Epstein-Barr virus induction in vitro. The plant also contains the glycoprotein momogroswine, which inhibits ribosomal protein synthesis.

Cultivation and Marketing

Traditional processing methods

Arhat fruits are round and green when harvested, but turn brown when dried. They are rarely used fresh due to difficulties associated with storage. In addition, during the fermentation process, the fruits acquire a rotten taste, which is superimposed on the already present unpleasant aromas. Thus, the fruits are usually dried and sold in dried form in Chinese herbal shops. The drying process is carried out over low heat in ovens, thanks to which it is possible to preserve the fruit by removing most of the unpleasant odors. However, this method also produces a bitter and astringent taste. This limits the use of dried fruits and extracts for teas, soups, and as a sweetener for foods traditionally consumed with sugar or honey.

Procter & Gamble process

In 1995, Procter & Gamble patented a process for making a healthy sweetener from monk fruit. The patent claims that while monk fruit is very sweet, it contains too many extraneous flavors that render it useless. The company's patented process focuses on removing foreign odors. Fresh fruits are collected until they are completely ripe, and then they are stored for some time so that the process of their processing occurs precisely at the stage of fruit ripeness. The shell and seeds are removed and the pulp of the fruit is made into a fruit concentrate or puree, which is then used for further food production. Solvents are used to remove unpleasant odors.

Story

During the Tang Dynasty, the Guilin region was one of the most important Buddhist retreat sites with many temples. The fruit was named after the Arhats (Luohan, 羅漢), Buddhist monks who hoped to achieve enlightenment and liberation through what they considered proper lifestyle and meditation. The word "luohan" (羅漢) is a shortened form of the word "āluóhàn" (阿羅漢), which is a very old transliteration of the Indian Sanskrit word "arhat". In early Buddhist traditions, an arhat was a monk who had achieved enlightenment. This process was called "attaining the fruits of the arhat" (Sanskrit: arhattaphala). In Chinese, this word was transformed into "Luohan guǒ" (羅漢果, lit. "Arhat fruit"), which later became the name for this type of sweet fruit in China. According to Chinese history, the fruit was first mentioned in the records of 13th century monks who used it as food. However, the space for establishing plantations was limited, and arhat grew mainly on the slopes of the Guangxi and Guangdong mountains, and to a lesser extent in Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi and Hainan. Because of this and the difficulties associated with its cultivation, the fruit did not become part of Chinese folk medicine, which used more readily available herbs and plants. Because of this, the fruit is also not mentioned in traditional herbal reference books.

Rediscovery of the Arhat in the 20th century

The first mention of this plant in English is in an unpublished manuscript written in 1938 by Professor Groff and Hoh Hin Chung. The report said the fruits were often used as the main ingredients in “chilled drinks,” that is, drinks used in hot weather, and as remedies for fevers or other disorders traditionally associated with heat (inflammations). It was known then that the juice from the fruit was very sweet. Interviews confirmed that the fruits have only recently gained significance in Chinese history. However, a small group of people appear to have long mastered the cultivation of the plant and have accumulated extensive experience in the plant's growth, pollination, and climatic requirements. The fruit was brought to the USA at the beginning of the 20th century. Groff mentions that during his visit to the American Department of Agriculture in 1917, botanist Frederick Coville showed him monk fruits purchased from a Chinese store in Washington. Seeds of the fruit, purchased from a Chinese store in San Francisco, were introduced into the botanical description of the species in 1941. The first study of the sweet components of monk fruit is credited to S. H. Lee, who wrote a report on the plant in English in 1975, and to Tsunematsu Takemoto, who studied it in the early 1980s in Japan (Takemoto later decided to focus on a similar sweet plant gynostemma). In China, the development of production of products from arhat fruits, in particular, concentrated extracts, is still ongoing.

In each geographical area There are native plants, there are plants that were introduced and have successfully taken root. But man is a curious creature. Give him everything unusual, exotic. For of Eastern Europe bananas, pineapples and citruses have ceased to be exotic. Therefore, we present a small hit parade of unusual plants from distant countries. Bon appetit!

1. The genus Artocarpus from the mulberry family is widespread in Oceania. These trees are called bread trees for their unusual fruits. Oval “loaves” reach 12 kg, and their pulp accumulates starch, which, as it ripens, gradually turns into real dough. Such a tree bears fruit for 70-75 years, producing 700-800 fruits per year.

Unripe fruits are used to make drinks, and ripe ones are used to bake an analogue of bread. In Indian breadfruit, fruits up to a meter wide grow directly on the trunk. In Africa, there is a rakula whose fruit is “only” 50 cm in diameter and weighs 14 kg. But in Madagascar there is a huge breadfruit tree 20 meters high and 50 meters in girth.

2. The sago palm grows in New Guinea. At the age of 16 it begins to bloom. But shortly before it is cut down. At this point, the core becomes as rich in starch as possible. Sago is made from this core by pressing it onto a hot metal surface it through a sieve.

3. Venezuelan galactodendron is a real milk tree. Its juice can be drunk without processing; it is very similar in composition to cow's milk, and in taste - to cream with sugar. You can boil the juice and get a delicious curd mass. It’s a pity that we can’t propagate it as shrub seedlings for a personal plot. In the homeland of the plant, it would never occur to anyone to advertise - I’ll buy a shrub. And here, shrub seedlings, especially exotic ones, are always in demand.

4. The sausage tree grows in Madagascar. It belongs to the begoniaceae family; brown, sausage-shaped fruits hang on its branches. Each “sausage” reaches 10 cm in diameter and up to half a meter in length.

5. Socotra Island is located off the east coast of Africa. Among the many original forms plant life There is also a cucumber tree here. Dendrosicyos socotrana grows on the slopes of rocky mountains and has spiny wrinkled leaves, spiky fruits (painfully similar to cucumbers), thick trunk. The trunk is easy to cut and consists of soft, light-colored cellular tissue with milky juice. By the way, the tree is the only one in the pumpkin family.

6. There is a palm tree on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, whose nut juice, after thickening, tastes very similar to butter.

7. There are real “sugar” plants. Stevia leaves from Paraguay are 300 times sweeter than sugar, and sugar grass leaves from Mexico are 1000 times sweeter.
Red berries of Tomatocus dannelia ( herbaceous plant from the African savannah) is 2000 times sweeter than sugar, and the red berries of Dioscorephyllum cumminisia (Nigeria) are 3000 times sweeter. Well, the sweetest plant lives in West Africa. This is a ketemf shrub containing toumatin, a substance that is 100,000 times sweeter than sugar!

8. Cake trees grow on the islands of Oceania. These plants are covered with yellowish fruits that taste like sweet cakes.

9. From Japan and China came the Japanese raisin tree, which belongs to the buckthorn family - sweet hovenia. In fact, its fruits look like sour raisins, and are also quite dry. But the fleshy, juicy ovary holds these fruits. You can collect 35 kg of such sweets from each tree, also with the taste of rum.

10. And there is a very unique plant in the forests of India. It is called kalir-kanda or “fool the stomach.” It is enough to eat just 1-2 leaves to feel full for a whole week. At the same time, in the leaves nutrients not at all. A person simply acquires the illusion of satiety.

Excellent product for weight loss