BarMatin^TM
Healthy sweet

The zero-calorie sweetener thaumatin (E957) was originally discovered in the fruits of katamfe (Thaumatococcus daniellii), a plant species from albizzia Thaumatococcus within the arrowroot family (Marantaceae). The natural reservoir of katamfe is the rain forest zone of tropical Africa. It includes the line of countries from West Africa Guinea to the region of Kongo.

Katamfe plants for the production of thaumatin (left picture). In comparison to BarMatin^TM the cultivation is intricate and possible only in the tropical latitudes like West and Central Africa. The storage of the sweetener containing fruits (right picture) is expensive as they can easily rot. To produce 1 g of purified protein from katamfe, about 0.17 kg fruits are required.

Katamfe plants for the production of thaumatin (picture above). In comparison to BarMatin^TM the cultivation is intricate and possible only in the tropical latitudes like West and Central Africa. The storage of the sweetener containing fruits (picture below) is expensive as they can easily rot. To produce 1 g of purified protein from katamfe, about 0.17 kg fruits are required.

Already at the beginning of the 70’s, proteins for thaumatin could be isolated and biochemically characterized in the laboratories of the Dutch food enterprise Unilever (see van der Wel & Loeve, (1972) Isolation and characterization of thaumatin I and II, the sweet-tasting proteins from Thaumatococcus daniellii Benth. Eur J Biochem (31): 221-225). Finally, the amino acid sequence of thaumatin I was published in 1979 (see Iyengar et al., (1979) The complete amino-acid sequence of the sweet protein thaumatin I. Eur J Biochem (96): 193-204) and the protein structure as well as its interaction with related taste receptors was discussed. At the beginning of the 80’s, the established cDNA techniques made gene transfers to foreign species possible. For the first time in 1982, it was successfully introduced into the bacterium Escherichia coli (see Edens et al., (1982) Cloning of cDNA encoding the sweet-tasting plant protein thaumatin and its expression in Escherichia coli. Genes (18): 1-12). Until now, thaumatin has been successfully transferred in the case of several plant species, such as potato, apple or tomato (see Witty, (1989) Thaumatin II: a simple marker gene for use in plants. Nucl Acids Res (17): 3312; Dolgovet et al., (2004) Apple transformation with the gene of super sweet protein thaumatin II. Acta Hort (604): 507-510 & Bartoszesi et al., (2003) Modification of tomato taste in transgenic plants carrying a thaumatin gene from Thaumatococcus daniellii Bent. Plant Breeding (122): 347-351). These alternative expression systems have no chance on the market due to their complicated cultivation, harvest as well as storage, and low expression rates. BarMatin^TM has been developed taking into consideration this scientific history, and in particular has been optimized for high expression rates in a specific tissue in the barley kernel. BarMatin^TM is actually the best and cheapest methodology to produce the sweetener in large quantities.