What is Thaumatin?

Thaumatin is extracted from the katemfe fruit also known as the African Serendipity Berry which is native to West Africa. The fruit contains 1-3 black seeds surrounded by a gel, and capped with a membranous sac, the aril, which contains the 'sweet proteins' thaumatin. The seeds of the fruit have been used in traditional medicine and also been used to sweeten traditional West African foods such as sour fruits.

Thaumatin is up to 2000 times sweeter than sugar and therefore such tiny amounts are required. It is an awesome natural sweetener and is suitable for diabetics and does not cause tooth decay.

Thaumatin is highly water soluble, and stable at hot temperatures. It is extracted with water and purified by selective ultrafiltration.

We use Thaumatin in our NZ WPI, SELECT WPC and Elite 3.0 Protein Blend to offer a much fuller and rounder sweetness as opposed to using other sweeteners alone like stevia extract.