The West African Miracle Berry: A Flavor Trip for Your Taste Buds

Miracle fruit, miracle berry, flavor berry, magic berry, and sweet berry. These are some of the common names for Synsepalum dulcificum, an evergreen shrub native to West Africa.

The plant's berry, which looks like a cranberry, is named for its so-called "miracle" property: the ability to turn sour tastes into sweet tastes. This fascinating effect results from a protein called miraculin, a natural chemical that affects the tongue's taste receptors.

Miraculin binds to sweet taste receptors. When acidic or sour foods contact miraculin, the protein changes shape and stimulates the sweet receptors. This creates an ultra-sweet sensation, despite the food's acidic or sour origin. The effect can last for up to an hour.

Synsepalum dulcificum was first documented in the 1700s by Chevalier des Marchais, a French navigator and cartographer. The European explorer discovered the plant during an 18th century expedition to West Africa. He observed the locals picking the fruit from shrubs and chewing it before meals to enhance their foods.

An attempt to commercialize the fruit for its sugar-free sweetening abilities failed in the 1970s, when the United Stated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified the berry as a food additive rather than a sweetener. For a short period, American dieters could purchase miraculin in pill form. This sparked the initial idea for a "miraculin party."

The miraculin phenomenon has experienced a revival among modern food enthusiasts, with popular "flavor-tripping parties." Tasters consume a wide variety of sour foods -- lemons, limes, grapefruit, pickles, and beer, for example -- to experience the incredible taste changes. Flavor trippers describe the fruit as a pscyhedelic for the taste buds.

Although the mysterious properties of Synsepalum dulcificum have been recognized for centuries, the miracle berry has become a novelty today. The real mystery, say researchers, is discovering the plant's health benefits.

Researchers have suggested that miracle fruit may help diabetics and dieters. Miraculin could serve as a low-calorie sweetener or sugar substitute.

Studies have shown that miracle fruit may also benefit cancer patients going through chemotherapy. The miracle berry could address the metallic taste, appetite loss, and malnutrition associated with cancer treatment.

Dr. Mike Cusnir, a Florida oncologist, is currently researching the health benefits of Synsepalum dulcificum and is waiting for the FDA's approval to test the berry's effects on patients.

And Homaro Cantu, an internationally-recognized inventor, chef, and molecular gastronomer, is on a mission to end world hunger with the West African miracle fruit.

Fresh miracle fruit has a shelf life of only 2 or 3 days. Freeze-dried pulp is available as granules or tablets.

Miracle berry seeds can be grown in containers of acidic soil. The shrub is best grown outdoors in partial shade, or indoors in bright light.

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Copyright © 2011. Annette R. Smith. All rights reserved.

Published November 12, 2011. Updated February 21, 2012.