What is the miracle fruit?
Q: What is the miracle fruit?
A: The miracle fruit is a berry of Synsepalum dulcificum from West Africa.
Q: What chemical is found in the miracle fruit?
A: The chemical found in the miracle fruit is miraculin.
Q: What effect does miraculin have on food?
A: Miraculin makes other foods taste sweet.
Q: What is miraculin?
A: Miraculin is a glycoprotein molecule with some trailing carbohydrate chains.
Q: How does miraculin work in the tongue's taste buds?
A: Miraculin binds to the tongue's taste buds, causing sour foods to taste sweet by activating sweet receptors.
Q: How long does the sweet taste effect of miraculin last?
A: The effect lasts until the protein is washed away by saliva, which is up to about 60 minutes.
Q: What is being done to produce miraculin?
A: Transgenic tomato plants are now being produced as a source of miraculin.
