A sweet protein in the West African fruit could pack more than 3,000 times the sweetness of sugar. If it is approved, FDA approval could see it on the shelves shortly.

A protein designed by a designer to be a sugar substitute is expected to make its debut on the market and, if it proves to be effective and secure, could cause an era-changing shift in our perception of an addiction that is among the worst and potentially dangerous elements of the diet we consume.

A study led by Israeli food tech company Amai Proteins aims to find the source of the taste receptors that we use for everything sweet. The company is evaluating monellin, a protein synthesized by bacteria that binds onto the exact sweet receptors that sugar does and delivers more than three more sweetness.

The serendipity fruit was isolated from it. Located within West Africa, monellin was discovered in 1969. However, it’s only been recently that it has begun to be available on our shelves. Amai Proteins aimsaims to use monellin protein to replace as much as 70 percent of sugar added to the foods we consume.

The difficulties of substituting sugar

Sugar, which is a well-known cause of obesity and diabetes, is a common ingredient in the food we consume. Artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, are the most readily available substitute for itis, which is linked to carcinogenic characteristics.

The gut microbiome, which is a unique world, could increase the risk of addiction to sugar due to gut microbes sending messages to the brain to demand more sugar. On a neurobiological level, sugar can trigger addiction similarly to cocaine.

All of this creates the challenge of a lifetime when it comes to coming up with a suitable replacement for sugar. One issue is that the substitute must taste as good as sugar; another is that it shouldn’t be as harmful as sugar. A bioengineered solution, therefore, will have to meet many criteria.

Designing proteins for designers

Making any food additive on the market requires mixing expertise across various disciplines. Monellin can lose its structure when temperatures reach 45 ° Celsius. Due to the high temperatures expected in the food industry, changes were needed to increase its stability.

Amai Proteins modified its structure by employing an agile, integrative computational design of proteins (AI-CPD) to increase its stability. The method was inspired by the biomechanics of extremophile organisms that cancan withstand the harshest conditions.

Protein production requires the acceptance of bacteria, which are nature’s factory workers. Designer protein can be produced in yeast, and after harvesting, it becomes a white powder known as Sweelin.

In its food testing, Amai has lowered the amount of sugar in ketchup by 70 % and chocolate by 50%. In addition, “supertasters” (those with an increased sensation of tasting) could not tell the difference, Ilan Samish, Amai’s CEO and founder, said in an article in Nature. Article.

At the stage of the body’s second brain, the gut, it is thought to be insignificant to interact with the gut microbiome interact with the gut microbiome. It is also broken down into amino acids without triggering the insulin reaction.

Soon to be available on the market?

Amai Proteins hopes to launch commercially in the coming year following the granting of “Generally Recognised as Safe” recognition by the US Food and Drug Administration. “Old-school agriculture is not sustainable We need to create innovative, healthy affordable, sustainable, and cost-effective protein products for the food industry’s mass market. We could achieve with synthetic biology,” Samish says in the Nature article.

Monellin could be added to the list of synthetic proteins that seek to replace sugar like Stevia’s, along with organic alternatives like the monk extract of the fruit.