Thaumatococcus

Katamfe ( Thaumatococcus daniellii )

Katamfe ( Thaumatococcus daniellii ) is a species of the genus Thaumatococcus in the family of the arrowroot family ( Marantaceae ).

Features

Katamfe is a perennial with a powerful rhizome. The inflorescence form short spikes. The flowers are red - purple. Fruits are triangular, wine-red berries. These contain three encased in a yellow seed coat black seeds.

Occurrence

Katamfe is found in the rain forest zone of tropical Africa.

Use

Is used, the thaumatin obtained by extraction of the arils of the fruit with water. This result fruit per kilogram approximately six grams of thaumatin.

Active ingredients are proteins of about 200 amino acids such as thaumatin I and II

Application: Thaumatin is a natural sweetener, sweetening its more than 2000 times higher than that of table sugar; the sweetening power of saccharin is 300 times higher than that of table sugar. In addition, the substance has flavor-enhancing properties. The sweetness is perceived delays, but stay longer, with lakritzartigem aftertaste obtained. When heated in acid solution, the sweet taste is lost. Since 1998, admitted as E 957 in Germany and is classified by the WHO as safe, thaumatin is used as a food additive, especially in combination with other sweeteners, in Diäthetika for diabetics and overweight as well as in vitamin tablets using.

Katamfe - fruits are used in the countries of origin as a traditional sweetener. The cultivation and use of the plant could help to secure the livelihood of the local population, but in the meantime the sweetener can be cost-effectively produced by genetic engineering.

System

Thaumatococcus daniellii was first described by John Joseph Bennett.

Documents

• Susanne Bickel Sandkötter: crops and their ingredients. Quelle & Meyer Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2001, ISBN 3-494-02252-6.
• Ingrid and Peter Schoenfelder: The new handbook of medicinal plants. Franckh Cosmos Publishing Company, 2011, ISBN 978-3-440-09387-0.