Highly Sweet Compounds from North and South American Medicinal Plants

Nearly 50 highly sweet substances have been isolated and structurally characterized from green plants, and such compounds comprise mainly various types of terpenoids, flavonoids, and proteins. Among the sweet substances that have been studied as constituents of North and South American medicinal plants are the sesquiterpene, hernandulcin, the triterpene glycosides, abrusosides A-D, the steroidal saponins, polypodosides A and B, and the dihydroflavonol, dihydroquercetin-3-acetate. In addition, safety studies have been performed on the potently sweet substance, stevioside, from the 'sweet herb of Paraguay' (Stevia rebaudiana), a compound now produced on a commercial scale.