Contents

• Herbal excipients

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Herbal excipients

At the end of the session, student will be able to

• Explain non-saccharide used in formulating cosmetics

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Non-saccharide sweetening agents

• Contain substances other than saccharides as sweet principles

• Terpenoids, proteins, dihydrochalcones, steroidal saponins, etc as sweet principles

• Posses some advantages over saccharide sweeteners

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Non-saccharide sweetening agents

They are

• Non-carcinogenic

• Potent sweeteners (10,000 times sweeter than sucrose)

• Have very low calorific values, hence useful for diabetic persons

• Do not have any effect on prevalence of diseases

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 TERPENOIDS - Steviosides

• Stevia is the safest Natural Sweetener

• Substitute for sucrose in various formulations

• Obtained from leaves of small perennial herb Stevia

rebaudiana (compositae), a native of Paraguay, South Brazil
and cultivated in Japan, southeast Asia, USA, etc.

• Stevioside was first isolated principle of this plant, which is

200- 300 times sweeter than sucrose

• Other sweet principles includes steviosides A and B,

Steviobioside, RebaudiosideA, B, C, D, E and Dulcoside A 6
 Steviosides

• The major components of the leaf and their sweetness potency

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Glycyrrhizin - Liquorice

• Pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins glycoside

• Obtained from the root and stolons of the plant Glycyrrhiza glabra (Leguminosae)

• Other species: G. foetida, G. inflata

• Native of Mediterranean region and China

• Cultivated in France, Italy, Spain, USSR, USA, England and Asia

• In India it is found in Srinagar, Jammu, Dehradun, Baramulla etc.,

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Glycyrrhizin

• Glycyrrhizin is found in the form of potassium and calcium salt of glycyrrhizic acid

• Because of its sweet taste, glycyrrhizin is used worldwide as a natural sweetener and
flavoring additive

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Glycyrrhizin

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Abrus precatorius

• Abrus precatorius is a climbing shrub

• Triterpene glycoside sweet principles present in the leaves of Indian

liquorice plant Abrus precatorius (leguminosae)

• Like liquorice, roots of this plant also contain glycyrrhizin

• Leaves taste sweeter than roots, seeds are poisonous and contain
Abrin, a poisonous substance

• Leaves contain Triterpene glycosides Abrusosides, A, B, C, D and E

• Roots contain the sweet oleanane type Triterpene glycoside

glycyrrhizin

• Hence this plant is used as substitute for liquorice 11

 Perillartine

• Monoterpene volatile oil from the leaves, seeds and flowering tops of Perilla frutescens
(Labiatae)

• Indigenous to India and found in Japan and Southeast Asia

• Perillartine is 400-2000 times sweeter than sucrose

• 4-8 times sweeter than saccharine

• Volatile oil provides flavours to sauces and confectionary as it contains the super sweet
principle Perillartine
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Dihydro isocoumarins - Phyllodulcin

• Obtained from Hydrangea macrophylla (Saxifragaceae) commonly known as Amacha

• Indigenous to Japan, china and is found in North and south America

• Temperate hills of India particularly Assam and in Himalayas

• 300-400 times sweeter than sucrose

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Protein sweeteners -Thaumatin

• Thaumatins - family of very sweet proteins

• Fruits of the tropical plant Thaumatococcus danielli (marantaceae)
• All the forms of a Thaumatin are intensely sweet, and have 207
amino acids
• The two predominant forms, Thaumatin I and II differ by 5 amino
acids
• Sweet taste of thaumatin is rated to be 2000
• 10000 times sweeter than sucrose, depends on purity and
concentration
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Protein sweeteners -Thaumatin

• Sweetening power does not disappear on heating

• Used at 20-400 ppm in pills and tablets
• Long lasting effect covers strongly bitter after tastes and leaves
a pleasant feeling in the mouth
• Thaumatin can also be useful for masking astringency and off-
flavors

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Miraculin

• Taste- modifying protein, modify sour taste into sweet taste

• From red berries of Richardella dulcifica (Sapotaceae), a shrub

native to tropical West Africa

• Glycoprotein molecule with some trailing carbohydrate chains

• Citric acid, ascorbic acid, and acetic acid, which are normally sour,
perceived as sweet after the berry has been held in the mouth

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 Miraculin

• Maximum sweetness after exposure to 0.4 μm miraculin induced by 0.02M citric acid
was estimated to be around 400000 times that of sucrose on a molar basis

• Taste modifying effect lasts for usually 1-2 hr

• Miracle fruit is available as freeze dried granules or in tablets – this form has a longer
shelf life than fresh fruit

• Tablets are made from compressed freeze dried fruit which causes the texture to be
clearly visible even in tablet form

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Curculin

• Curculin isolated from Curculigo latifolia, a plant grown in Malaysia

• Modify sour taste into sweet taste
• In addition to this taste modifying activity, curculin itself elicits a sweet taste
• Curculin has a unique property to exhibit both taste modifying activities

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 Monellin

• From red berries of Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii, a West African plant

• About 3000 times sweeter than sucrose on a weight basis

• Unlike the single chain thaumatin, monellin consists of two

polypeptides of 45 and 50 amino acid residues

• Associated through non-covalent interactions

• Loose its sweetness when heated above 50ºC under acidic pH

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Mabinlin

• Sweet tasting polypeptide, fruits of Chinese plant Capparis masaki

• Comprised of two polypeptide chains, of 33 and 72 amino acids respectively

• Associated through noncovalent interactions

• About 100 times sweeter than sucrose on a weight basis

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Pentadin

• Fruits of Pentadiplandra brazzeana, a climbing shrub of tropical Africa

• Contain 12-kDa sweet tasting protein, first isolated by van der Wel et al

• Sweetness intensity was estimated to be around 500 times that of sucrose on a weight
basis

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Brazzein

• Also from Pentadiplandra brazzeana

• First isolated by Mind and Hellekant (1994)

• Found in the extracellular region, in the pulp tissue

surrounding the seeds

• Extremely sweet compared to commonly used

sweeteners (500 to 2000 times sweeter than
sucrose)

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Dihydrochalcones - Glycyphyllin

• Sweet principle present in almost all parts of Smilax glycyphylla (Liliaceae)

• Indigenous to India and found in Himalayas

• Sweet principle is a dihydrochalcone glucoside, 100-200 times sweeter than sucrose

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 Neohesperidin Dihydrochalcone

• From fruit peels of Citrus aurantium (Rutaceae)

• Neohesperidine is itself bitter
• But dilute alkali extract gives a sweet compound called Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone
• About 1000 times sweeter than sucrose
• Has a slow onset and persists for some time

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Polyol sweeteners - Xylitol

• Xylitol is a polyol, with a sweetening power similar to sucrose, found in fruits and
vegetables
• Does not undergo a Maillard reaction, responsible for both darkening and reduction in
the nutritional value of proteins
• When continuously supplied in the diet, it limits the tendency to obesity
• Improves the colour and taste of food preparations without causing undesired changes
in properties during storage

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 Xylitol

• Sweetener when used alone or formulated in combination with other sugars, provides
texture, colour, taste, stable for longer periods than those of products formulated with
conventional sugars such as sucrose

• With fructose, xylitol is the sugar recommended for diabetic patients

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Summary

• Substances that sweeten food, beverages, medications, etc.,

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