Capparis masaikai

Capparis masaikai, known as mabinlang,^[1] grows in the subtropical region of the Yunnan province of China and bear fruits of tennis-ball size. The mature seeds are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Capparis masaikai
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Brassicales
Family:	Capparaceae
Genus:	Capparis
Species:	C. masaikai
Binomial name
Capparis masaikai Levl.

They are also used as sweets; the seeds elicit a sweet taste when chewed.^[2]

The origin of the sweet taste was identified as sweet-tasting proteins named mabinlins. They are highly sweet, 100-400 times sweeter than sucrose on a weight basis.^[2][3]

References

1. Data Portal of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Biodiversity occurrence data for Capparis masaikai H. Léveillé Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
2. X Liu, S Maeda, Z Hu, T Aiuchi, K Nakaya, Y Kurihara. Purification, complete amino acid sequence and structural characterization of the heat-stable sweet protein, mabinlin II. Eur J Biochem 1993. 211(1–2):281-7. doi:10.1111/j.1432-1033.1993.tb19896.x PMID 8425538
3. S Nirasawa, T Nishino, M Katahira, S Uesugi, Z Hu, Y Kurihara. Structures of heat-stable and unstable homologues of the sweet protein mabinlin. Eur J Biochem 1994, 223(3):989-95. doi:10.1111/j.1432-1033.1994.tb19077.x PMID 8055976