Sweetening agents of plant origin*

The most important sweet substance known is sucrose, which is obtained commercially from sugar cane and sugar beet. Because the intake of sucrose has been associated with a number of adverse effects on health, an intensive search has been undertaken to find alternative substances to satisfy the human craving for a sweet taste. Many other plant‐derived compounds are sweet, ranging in structural complexity from sugars and polyhydric alcohols through diterpene and triterpene glycosides to proteins; some of these compounds are intensely sweet, being hundreds or even thousand times sweeter than sucrose, and offer potential for commercial use in dietetic and diabetic foodstuffs. The present review examines the role of ethnobotany in the discovery of sweet‐tasting plants, the chemical isolation and elucidation of the sweet compounds, and some safety and sensory evaluation aspects of these compounds. A discussion on the future prospects of discovering and developing new plant‐derived sweeteners concludes the review.