Natural sweetening plants: A global review

The present review deals with global survey of natural sweetening plants. Interest in natural sweeteners has received much interest through civilisations and has now grown immensely in recent times either because of the rejection of artificial food non-nutritive artificial sweeteners and the safety of some synthetic additives which are a serious health hazard about high sugar intake. Although many natural compounds are sweet in taste, none of them has actually replaced sucrose (table sugar) as of now except Stevia. The search for an ideal alternative(s) to natural sucrose remains open and challenging. Here, we review the different angiospermous families that produce natural sweeteners and briefly describe new or little know natural sweeteners and also comment on the central role of the sweet taste receptors on the tongue in stimulating chemosensory system, which in turn explains the structural diversity of sweet compounds. Natural sweeteners, in comparison to non-nutritive sweeteners, contain less calories and nutrients, are metabolised, and change as they pass through the body. They include agave nectar, brown rice syrup, date sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses and blackstrap molasses, sorghum syrup and Stevia.