Thaumatin is wild harvested from the West African rainforests and is an excellent low-calorie flavour modifier. It is a natural protein physically extracted from the katemfe fruit, Thaumatococcus daniellii.
During the last 20 years, collection and processing centres have been established, which are a real testament to the dedication of Talin employees and their close involvement with the local communities. Today, thanks to the vision and innovation of Overseal Natural Ingredients, thaumatin, under the brand name Talin, is used worldwide in more applications than ever before.
Talin has a particularly powerful effect on taste. It is effective at modifying flavours to mask bitterness and overcome the perception of the off notes, making the product of particular interest for functional foods, nutraceutical products, supplements and pharmaceutical applications. Research suggests it is the unique tertiary structure of the thaumatin molecule that enables it to interact with the taste buds and block the bitter taste receptors.
A recently completed sensory research conducted for Overseal Natural Ingredients demonstrates the effect that Talin can have on bitter substances including peptides, quinine and caffeine. Decreases in the perceived bitterness of the products of up to 45% were achieved. Talin helps to make pharmaceutical and supplement products more palatable and according to the level added can mask varying degrees of the most bitter APIs.
Talin is listed in the Codex General Standard for Food Additives and permitted for general use in food according to GMP regulations. It also has Fema Gras approval and a Drug Master File registered with the FDA (No 16260). In terms of toxicology, Thaumatin was allocated in 1985 as 'ADI not specified' by the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee of Food Additives, indicating its acceptability for use in foods generally, and there is a published Thaumatin Safety Study (Higginbotham, JD et al, 1983 Fd. Chem. Tox. Vol 21, No 6, pp815-823).
