Hernandulcin is an intensely sweet chemical compound gained from the chiefly Mexican and South American plant '' Lippia dulcis''.

History and origin

In the 1570s, Spanish physician Francisco Hernández described a remarkably sweet plant known to the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

s as Tzonpelic xihuitl, meaning "sweet herb". This reference, accompanied by an accurate description and illustration of the plant, led to a group of pharmacognocists in 1985 to a previously unrecognised, intensely sweet chemical that can provide

sweetness Sweetness is a Taste#Basic tastes, basic taste most commonly Perception, perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasure, pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds ...

without tooth decay. Cesar M. Compadre, and A. Douglas Kinghorn, from the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...

isolated and identified the sweet compound from the leaves and flowers of the '' Lippia dulcis'' plant, in Mexico. The researchers noted the chemical structure of the colourless oil, and named it hernandulcin after Francisco Hernandez.

Structure

Hernandulcin is a

sesquiterpene Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and often have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be cyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations. Biochemical modificatio ...

with the molecular formula C₁₅H₂₄O₂. By slightly modifying the compound, researchers have identified the three parts of the chemical structure that produced the intense sweet taste - the carbonyl group, the

hydroxyl In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical formula and composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom. In organic chemistry, alcohols and carboxylic acids contain one or more hydroxy ...

group, and the hydrophobic side chain. Hernandulcin was the first sesquiterpene found to be sweet, and after a panel of volunteers tasted hernandulcin, it was determined that it was more than 1,000 times sweeter than

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

. Hernandulcin also has a minty

aftertaste Aftertaste is the taste intensity of a food or beverage that is perceived immediately after that food or beverage is removed from the mouth. The aftertastes of different foods and beverages can vary by intensity and over time, but the unifying fe ...

, and does not cause tooth decay, which would make it a good candidate for oral hygiene products.

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline Sugar substitutes Sesquiterpenes Tertiary alcohols Enones Cyclohexenes