title: Expression of the sweet protein brazzein in maize for production of a new commercial sweetener.
abstract: The availability of foods low in sugar content yet high in flavour is critically important to millions of individuals conscious of carbohydrate intake for diabetic or dietetic purposes. Brazzein is a sweet protein occurring naturally in a tropical plant that is impractical to produce economically on a large scale, thus limiting its availability for food products. We report here the use of a maize expression system for the production of this naturally sweet protein. High expression of brazzein was obtained, with accumulation of up to 4% total soluble protein in maize seed. Purified corn brazzein possessed a sweetness intensity of up to 1200 times that of sucrose on a per weight basis. In addition, application tests demonstrated that brazzein-containing maize germ flour could be used directly in food applications, providing product sweetness. These results demonstrate that high-intensity sweet protein engineered into food products can give sweetener attributes useful in the food industry.
authors.affiliation: blamphear@prodigene.com
authors.forename: Barry J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lamphear
authors.forename: Donna K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: Donna E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Delaney
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beifuss
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Love
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Jocelyne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mayor
authors.forename: Rich
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Clough
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harkey
authors.forename: Miranda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poage
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Drees
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Horn
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Streatfield
authors.forename: Zivko
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Nikolov
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Woodard
authors.forename: Elizabeth E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Hood
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jilka
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Howard