Schlerochiton ilicifolius

A highly sweet amino acid, monatin (83), was isolated from an African plant, Schlerochiton ilicifolius A. Meeuse (Acanthaceae) [101]. Monatin (83) was rated as being comparable to the synthetic amino acid, 6-chloro-D-tr3T>tophan, which showed a sweetness intensity of 1,300 times that of sucrose. Monatin (83) appears to be the only native plant amino acid with a highly sweet taste to have been discovered. 

Monatin, 4-hydroxy-4-(indoT3-ylmethyl) glutamic acid, a high-intensity sweet, natural compound. Monatin was isolated from the roots of Schlerochiton ilicifolius, a spinyleaved hardwood shrub growing in South Africa. The synthesis of the four... 

In 1992, monatin [(25,45)-61], a 4-hydroxy,4-substituted glutamic acid, was isolated from the bark of the roots of Schlerochiton ilicifolius and reported to be 1000 to 1400 times sweeter than sucrose [31]. However, the natural supply of (25, 45)-61 from dried bark was insufficient for further... 

---