Monk Fruit (Luo Han Guo)
With up to 300 times the sugar sweetness, the extract of monk fruit offers itself as an alternative to stevia extracts. However, EU approval has not yet been granted, whereas in the USA, for example, there are already many possible applications. This means that monk fruit extract can be sold freely in the EU, but there are still no foods on the market that contain it.
The mogroside V is mainly responsible for the sweetness of monk fruit. Other mogrosides as well as glucose and fructose also provide a certain sweetness. These are present to a lesser extent. Therefore, the glycemic index is low, making monk fruit extracts suitable for diabetics. They are also very low in calories.
Monk fruit is particularly rich in vitamin C and is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a remedy for coughs. The extracts are used in the industry for beverages, sweets, cakes, wine or table-top sweeteners.
Specification | Structure | Sweetness times sugar |
---|---|---|
Mogroside V 20% | white or yellow powder | 80 |
Mogroside V 25% | white or yellow powder | 100 |
Mogroside V 30% | white or yellow powder | 120 |
Mogroside V 40% | white or yellow powder | 160 |
Mogroside V 50% | white or yellow powder | 200 |
Mogroside V 55% | white or yellow powder | 220 |
Mogroside V 60% | white or yellow powder | 240 |
Mogroside V 65% | white or yellow powder | 260 |