All About
Sweeteners
by D. Eric Walters, Ph.D.
by D. Eric Walters, Ph.D.
Artice of the week:
Lo Han Guo
Other names:
Luo han guo
Taste:
Lo han guo is a fruit that grows in Southern China and Northern Thailand. It has been used locally for centuries as a sweetener. In addition to sugars, the fruit contains a series of terpene glycosides called "mogrosides". These are up to 300 times as sweet as sucrose. Mogrosides have a licorice-like off taste.
Calories:
Caloric content will depend upon the form of lo han guo used. The fruit contains sugars, and these will provide calories. The isolated mogrosides do not provide any calories.
Safety:
There is little data on the safety of lo han guo fruit, other than the observation that it has been used by people who live in the area where the fruit grows.
Chemistry:
The mogrosides are terpene glycosides. The structure of mogroside V is shown below:
Other links:
Lo han guo on Wikipedia
SweetenerBook.com
This site is changing daily! Most recently updated 2 July 2008. All material is © copyrighted property of Walters Associates. All rights reserved.
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