| Capparis masaikai | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Spermatophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Capparaceae |
| Genus: | Capparis |
| Species: | C. masaikai
|
| Binomial name | |
| Capparis masaikai Levl.
| |
Capparis masaikai, known as mabinlang,1 grows in the subtropical region of the Yunnan province of China and bear fruits of tennis-ball size. The mature seeds are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
They are also used as sweets; the seeds elicit a sweet taste when chewed.2
The origin of the sweet taste was identified as sweet-tasting proteins named mabinlins. They are highly sweet, 100-400 times sweeter than sucrose on a weight basis.23
References
References
- Data Portal of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Biodiversity occurrence data for Capparis masaikai H. Léveillé Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- X Liu, S Maeda, Z Hu, T Aiuchi, K Nakaya, Y Kurihara. Purification, complete amino acid sequence and structural characterization of the heat-stable sweet protein, mabinlin II. Eur J Biochem 1993. 211(1–2):281-7. doi:10.1111/j.1432-1033.1993.tb19896.x PMID 8425538
- S Nirasawa, T Nishino, M Katahira, S Uesugi, Z Hu, Y Kurihara. Structures of heat-stable and unstable homologues of the sweet protein mabinlin. Eur J Biochem 1994, 223(3):989-95. doi:10.1111/j.1432-1033.1994.tb19077.x PMID 8055976