Brazzein

Main article: Sugar substitutes

2024

Russia will soon launch the production of a safe alternative to sugar

EFKO has completed certification of sweet protein on the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. The company announced this on June 4, 2024.

The sweet protein brazzein has received a certificate of state registration and can now be used in food production. Read more here.

Published results of safety studies of the sweet protein brazzein

On May 17, 2024, EFKO presented the results of safety studies of the sweet protein brazzein conducted by Russian scientific teams of the Federal State Budgetary Institution FNCC FHM named after Yu.M. Lopukhin FMBA of Russia, Research Institute of FHB named after A.N. Belozersky, MGMSU named after A.I. Evdokimova, SPC Farmbiomed and previously published in Foods and Fronts.

Sweet protein is a food ingredient that can replace sugar in familiar foods and offer a healthy alternative to people who have diabetes and follow the level of sugar consumption, thanks to its unique properties: sweet proteins are several thousand times sweeter than sugar, do not cause an insulin response and taste almost indistinguishable from sugar.

However, in order for the ingredient to appear on the market, it was necessary to confirm that its use is safe for human health and does not have long-term negative consequences.

A large-scale study Russian scientists found out whether eating sweet monelin and brazzein proteins could harm health. To do this, they evaluated the toxicity of these compounds to guinea pigs, rats and mice. The results showed that sweet proteins did not cause pathological changes in the lungs,,, liver,, heart kidneys brain small intestine,, stomach colon, and to gut ovaries testes. In addition, the animals showed no signs of intoxication and weight gain. Also, the compounds do not have allergenic or mutagenic properties.^[1]

As of May 2024, Russians consume 43 kg of sugar per capita per year, with the WHO recommendation - 18 kg. As noted in EFKO, this trend has the following consequences:

• since 2000, the number of diabetes patients in Russia has grown 2.5 times from 2 million to 5.2 million people and, according to forecasts, will reach 7 million people by 2030;
• among residents of Russia are obese and overweight on average 23.5% (about 33 million people);
• excessive sugar consumption leads to development, cardiovascular diseases tooth diseases, cognitive impairment, bone diseases,. to aging skin

Brazzein is found in the fruits of some African tropical plants, but it is too costly to extract sweet protein from fruits. The Russian company EFKO has developed a method for the biotechnological production of brazzein. The product was supported by the president as strategically important for the state^[2] with ^[3].

The technology will not only create enough sweet protein to make it a product available to the mass consumer, but also raise the level of sweetness to 10,000 to sugar, making the product cost-effective. The introduction of sweet protein into the production as a sugar substitute will improve the quality of life of a person without depriving him of his usual products, emphasized in EFKO.

Efko agreed to build a bio-cluster for the production of sweet protein in the UAE for $500 million

EFKO has agreed to build a bio-cluster for the production of sweet protein in the UAE for $500 million. The press service of the company announced this in early March 2024.

We are talking about the release of the sweet protein brazzein. The technology was certified in the UAE in 2023. In accordance with the agreement with partners from the UAE, which was announced in early March 2024, three production stages will be launched. The design of the biotechnology cluster will be carried out by European engineering companies. Read more here.

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