Oubli and Brazzein: The Fruit and the Sweet Protein, Explained
Oubli is a fruit. Brazzein is the sweet protein found inside it. Here is a plain guide to both, and to how brazzein reaches food and beverage makers today.
Sweet proteins explained
If you have looked into sweet proteins, you have met two words again and again: oubli and brazzein. They are often used as if they mean the same thing. They do not. Oubli is a fruit. Brazzein is the sweet protein found inside it.
At UnSugar, we work with brazzein every day, so we get asked about these two names a lot. This guide explains what each one is, where it comes from, and how brazzein goes from a wild berry to an ingredient a food or beverage team can use.
The 30-second version
- Oubli is a small red fruit from West and Central Africa. Its botanical name is Pentadiplandra brazzeana.
- Brazzein is the sweet protein found in the oubli fruit. It is hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than sugar.
- Brazzein for food use is made by fermentation, a process like brewing. It is not taken from harvested fruit.
- Brazzein is a protein, not a brand. Several suppliers make it, or sweet proteins based on it.
- UnSugar Sweet Protein is a sweet protein based on brazzein, made for US food and beverage brands.
Oubli and brazzein: two names, two things
| Name | What it is | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| Oubli | A fruit | A red berry that grows on a climbing shrub in countries such as Gabon and Cameroon. Local people have eaten it for generations. |
| Brazzein | A protein | The small protein inside the oubli fruit that tastes sweet. It was named in 1994. |
| Pentadiplandra brazzeana | A plant | The botanical name of the plant that bears oubli fruit. Brazzein takes its name from it. |
Oubli: the fruit behind the name
An artist's illustration, not a photograph of the plant.
The oubli fruit grows wild in West and Central Africa. "Oubli" comes from the French word for forgetting. The story told about the fruit is that it is so sweet that nursing infants who taste it forget their mother's milk.
The fruit itself is not farmed at scale, and the amount of sweet protein in each berry is tiny. That is why nobody builds a food ingredient business on picking oubli fruit. The protein has to be made another way.
Brazzein: the sweet protein inside it
Brazzein is a small protein, just 54 amino acids long. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison isolated it from the oubli fruit and named it brazzein in 1994. Among the sweet proteins found in nature, it is known for a taste close to sugar and for holding up well to heat and acid.
Very sweet. Hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than sugar, depending on how it is measured. A few milligrams do the work of several grams of sugar.
Sugar-like taste. A clean sweetness with a gentle finish, which is why it is the sweet protein most often used as a main sweetener.
Stable. Published tests show brazzein keeping its sweetness after two hours at 98 °C, and across acidic and neutral pH.
Made by fermentation. Today, brazzein is produced by fermentation, a process like brewing, so supply does not depend on harvesting fruit.
For how brazzein compares with thaumatin, monellin and other options, see our comparison of sweet protein ingredients.
From oubli fruit to fermentation: how brazzein is made today
Brazzein for food and beverage use does not come from picked fruit. It is made by precision fermentation, a process like brewing.
- Start with the recipe. A microorganism such as yeast is given the instructions to make the same sweet protein found in the oubli fruit.
- Ferment. The microorganism grows in closed, food-grade tanks and produces the protein as it grows.
- Separate and purify. The protein is separated from the microorganism and purified.
- Finish. The result is a liquid or a powder that food and beverage teams can dose into a recipe.
This is why supply does not depend on harvests, weather or wild plants, and why brazzein can now be made in the amounts a food brand needs.
Other names you will see
| Name | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sweet protein | The general term for proteins that taste sweet, such as brazzein, thaumatin and monellin. |
| Oubli fruit sweet protein | A plain-language way of saying brazzein, after the fruit it was first found in. |
| Pentadiplandra brazzeana | The botanical name of the oubli plant. Brazzein is named after it. |
| Monellin | A different sweet protein, from the serendipity berry. |
| Thaumatin | A different sweet protein, from the katemfe fruit. |
| Precision fermentation | Using microorganisms such as yeast to make a specific protein, in tanks, in a process like brewing. |
| UnSugar Sweet Protein | Our own ingredient: a sweet protein based on brazzein, in liquid and powder formats. |
Is brazzein a brand?
No. Brazzein is a protein found in nature, not a brand, and oubli is the name of a fruit. Several companies now make brazzein, or sweet proteins based on it, and offer them to food and beverage makers. Each one has its own process, formats, documents and way of working with customers.
So when a product team says "we are testing oubli" or "we are looking at brazzein", they are talking about a kind of ingredient, not one product. It is worth comparing more than one source. We wrote a buyer's guide to sweet protein suppliers for that, and a shorter piece on how to compare brazzein suppliers.
Where UnSugar fits
UnSugar Sweet Protein is a sweet protein based on brazzein. It is 1,000 times sweeter than sugar, typically replaces 60 to 90% of the sugar in suitable formulations, and tastes like sugar with no bitter aftertaste.
We do one thing: supply this ingredient to food and beverage companies, with food scientists who help you formulate. It comes in liquid and powder, holds its sweetness through pasteurization and UHT, and works from pH 2.5 to 10. We do not sell consumer products.
Quick answers
What is oubli? Oubli is a small red fruit that grows on a climbing shrub in West and Central Africa. Its botanical name is Pentadiplandra brazzeana. It is the fruit in which the sweet protein brazzein was first found.
What is brazzein? Brazzein is a small sweet protein, 54 amino acids long, first found in the oubli fruit. It is hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than sugar and has a sugar-like taste.
What is the difference between oubli and brazzein? Oubli is the fruit. Brazzein is the sweet protein found inside that fruit. People often use the two words as if they mean the same thing, but one is a plant and the other is a protein.
What does oubli mean? Oubli comes from the French word for forgetting. The traditional story is that the fruit is so sweet that nursing infants who taste it forget their mother's milk.
Is brazzein taken from oubli fruit? Not for food ingredient use. The fruit is not farmed at scale and holds very little protein, so brazzein is made by precision fermentation, a process like brewing.
Can food and beverage brands buy brazzein as an ingredient? Yes. Brazzein-based sweet proteins are sold as ingredients for drinks, dairy, snacks and supplements. UnSugar supplies UnSugar Sweet Protein, based on brazzein, in liquid and powder. Ask any supplier for samples and documents for your intended use, and test in your own product.
Curious how brazzein tastes in your product?
Tell us what you are making. We will send liquid and powder samples of UnSugar Sweet Protein and a starting formulation for your category.
Request samples: goUnSugar.com/request-samples. Prefer to talk first? Email sales@goUnSugar.com
About UnSugar. UnSugar Sweet Protein is a sweet-protein ingredient that helps US food and beverage teams cut sugar while keeping the taste. It is 1,000 times sweeter than sugar by weight, typically replaces 60 to 90% of the sugar in suitable formulations, delivers a sugar-like taste with no bitter aftertaste, and works alongside existing sweeteners. Learn more at goUnSugar.com.
Sources: Brazzein, Wikipedia; Pentadiplandra brazzeana, Wikipedia
This article is general information for food and beverage teams. It does not describe or refer to any other company's products. UnSugar makes no health, medical or glycemic claims for UnSugar Sweet Protein. Sugar-reduction ranges are typical starting points in suitable formulations, not guarantees.
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