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Science 25 January 1985:
Vol. 227. no. 4685, pp. 417 - 419
DOI: 10.1126/science.3880922
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Articles

Science, Vol 227, Issue 4685, 417-419
Copyright © 1985 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Hernandulcin: an intensely sweet compound discovered by review of ancient literature

CM Compadre, JM Pezzuto, AD Kinghorn, and SK Kamath

Ancient Mexican botanical literature was systematically searched for new plant sources of intensely sweet substances. Lippia dulcis Trev., a sweet plant, emerged as a candidate for fractionation studies, and hernandulcin, a sesquiterpene, was isolated and judged by a human taste panel as more than 1000 times sweeter than sucrose. The structure of the sesquiterpene was determined spectroscopically and confirmed by chemical synthesis. Hernandulcin was nontoxic when administered orally to mice, and it did not induce bacterial mutation.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)