title: Hernandulcin: an intensely sweet compound discovered by review of ancient literature.
abstract: Ancient Mexican botanical literature was systematically searched for new plant sources of intensely sweet substances. Lippia dulcis Trev., a sweet plant, emerged as a candidate for fractionation studies, and hernandulcin, a sesquiterpene, was isolated and judged by a human taste panel as more than 1000 times sweeter than sucrose. The structure of the sesquiterpene was determined spectroscopically and confirmed by chemical synthesis. Hernandulcin was nontoxic when administered orally to mice, and it did not induce bacterial mutation.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001634:Bibliographies as Topic; D001901:Botany / Q000266:history; D002621:Chemistry; D049669:History, 16th Century; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008800:Mexico; D051379:Mice; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D010944:Plants / Q000032:analysis; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000633:toxicity; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000266:history / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D012717:Sesquiterpenes; D013549:Sweetening Agents; C044111:hernandulcin