A mogroside is a

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

cucurbitane Cucurbitane is a class of chemical compounds with formula (CAS number 65441-59-0). It is a polycyclic hydrocarbon, specifically triterpene. It is also an isomer of lanostane (specifically 19(10→9β)-abeolanostane), from which it differs by ...

derivatives found in certain plants, such as the fruit of the

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the ear ...

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

Siraitia grosvenorii ''Siraitia grosvenorii'', also known as monkfruit or ''luohan guo'', is a herbaceous perennial vine of the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. It is native to southern China. The plant is cultivated for its fruit extract, called mogrosides, which creat ...

'' (known as monkfruit or luo han guo).Subhuti Dharmananda (January 2004)
"Luo han guo - Sweet fruit used as sugar substitute and medicinal herb"
Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon. Mogrosides are

extract An extract is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures, absolutes or in powder form. The aromatic principles of many spices, nuts ...

ed from ''S. grosvenorii'' and used in the manufacture of

sugar substitute A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweetness like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie () or low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners may b ...

Mogrosides

Mogrosides include: * Mogrol * Mogroside II A₁ * Mogroside II B * 7-Oxomogroside II E * 11-Oxomogroside A₁ * Mogroside III A₂ * 11-Deoxymogroside III * 11-Oxomogroside IV A * Mogroside V * 7-Oxomogroside V * 11-Oxo-mogroside V * Mogroside VI Mogroside V is the main component of ''Siraitia grosvenorii'' fruit, constituting 0.5% to 1.4% of the dried fruit.

Biosynthesis

One analysis of 200 candidate

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

s of ''Siraitia grosvenorii'' revealed five

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...

families involved in the synthesis of mogroside V: squalene epoxidases,

triterpenoid Triterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of three terpene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of six isoprene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squal ...

synthases, epoxide hydrolases,

cytochrome P450 Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are a superfamily of enzymes containing heme as a cofactor that functions as monooxygenases. In mammals, these proteins oxidize steroids, fatty acids, and xenobiotics, and are important for the clearance of various co ...

s, and UDP-

glucosyltransferase Glucosyltransferases are a type of glycosyltransferase that enable the transfer of glucose. Examples include: * glycogen synthase * glycogen phosphorylase Glycogen phosphorylase is one of the phosphorylase enzymes (). Glycogen phosphorylase cat ...

s. The metabolic pathway for mogroside biosynthesis involves an initial stage of fruit development when squalene is metabolized to di-glucosylated, tetra-hydroxycucurbitadienols, then during fruit maturation, branched

glucosyl A glycosyl group is a univalent free radical or substituent structure obtained by removing the hemiacetal hydroxyl group from the cyclic form of a monosaccharide and, by extension, of a lower oligosaccharide. Glycosyl also reacts with inorga ...

groups are added and catalyzed, leading to the sweet M4, M5, and M6 mogrosides.

Stability

''Mogroside V'' appears to be heat stable in the range of 100 to 150 degrees Celsius for 4 hours and up to 8 hours in boiling water. Its pH resistance in the range of pH 3 to 12 stored in 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.

Uses

Some mogrosides are used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...

and some are extracted for manufacturing as

sweetener {{Wiktionary, sweetener A sweetener is a substance added to food or drink to impart the flavor of sweetness, either because it contains a type of sugar, or because it contains a sweet-tasting sugar substitute. Many artificial sweeteners have been ...

s. Mogroside V

from ''S. grosvenorii'' fruit is 250 times sweeter than

sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refine ...

, sold commercially in Norbu (sweetener).

References

External links

*{{Commonscatinline, Mogrosides Triterpene glycosides Sugar substitutes